Corporate Crime Case Database

On April 22, 2024, a court sentenced Luxury handbag company Gzuniga Ltd., its founder Nancy Teresa Gonzalez de Barberi and Gonzalez’s associate Mauricio Giraldo for illegally importing merchandise from Colombia to the United States that was manufactured from protected wildlife. Gzuniga was ordered to forfeit approximately 30 handbags, complete a three-year term of probation to include implementing a compliance plan. The company is also banned from any activities involving commercial trade in wildlife while under supervision. Gonzalez will serve 18 months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release. Giraldo was sentenced to time served (approximately 22 months after being held in Columbia and the United States following extradition) and a year of supervised release.

A fourth defendant, John Camilo Aguilar Jaramillo, recently pleaded guilty for his role and is scheduled for sentencing on June 27, 2024. U.S. authorities extradited Gonzalez, Giraldo and Jaramillo from Columbia to face the conspiracy and smuggling charges (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545).

Between February 2016 and April 2019, the defendants illegally imported designer handbags made from caiman and python skin, both CITES-protected species. They solicited friends, relatives, and employees of Gonzalez’s manufacturing company in Colombia, called C.I. Diseño Y Moda, to act as couriers and transport the designer handbags in their clothing or in their luggage while traveling on passenger airlines. Once the designer handbags were smuggled into the United States, they were transported or shipped to the Gzuniga showroom in Manhattan, New York, where employees placed them on display for high-end retailers to view and purchase as stock for their stores. The average retail price for these “Nancy Gonzalez” brand handbags exceeded $2,000.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

Related Enforcement Actions

This case was filed on December 13, 2023 in the Southern District of Florida.

This case was resolved on March 28, 2024.

Related Document(s):

Information

Plea Agreement

Press Release

United States v. Didion Milling, Inc., et al., No. 3:22-CR-00055 (W.D. Wisc.), ECS Trial Attorney Charlie Lord, ECS Senior Trial Attorney RJ Powers, ECS Trial Attorney Joel LaBissonniere, ECS Paralegals Chloe Harris and Jillian Grubb, and ECS Victim Witness Coordinator Angela Green.

On March 19, 2024, a court sentenced Didion Milling, Inc., (DMI) Supervisor Nicholas Booker to serve three years’ probation. Brooker pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying cleaning records and one count of falsifying environmental records (18 U.S.C. 1001(a)(3)). Booker is the final defendant to be sentenced in this case involving a catastrophic explosion that killed and wounded several DMI employees.

DMI owned and operated a corn mill in Cambria, Wisconsin. Corn dust is combustible and can fuel explosions if exposed to an ignition source and mixed with a sufficient concentration of air. Regulators required the company to operate “baghouses,” equipment designed to prevent particulate matter, such as corn dust, from being released into the environment from the corn mill. From at least 2015 to May 2017, DMI employees, including shift workers and shift superintendents, made false entries in the mill’s “baghouse logs,” disguising data meant to monitor and document whether the mill’s baghouse equipment was working properly to filter particulates from the air. DMI environmental manager provided baghouse logs for 2015, 2016, and 2017 to environmental inspectors, knowing that they contained false entries.

 The company was also required under Occupational Safety and Health Act safety standards to develop and implement a housekeeping program to reduce the accumulation of fugitive grain dust within its corn mill. DMI maintained a “master sanitation schedule” logbook listing each of the required dust cleanings and the specific dates by which the cleanings were supposed to be completed. The sanitation logbook contained spaces for employees to record that the dust cleanings had been performed and that documentations procedures had been followed.

On May 19, 2017, employees falsely initialed, signed, and dated entries in the sanitation logbook for the week of May 1 through May 7, 2017, giving the appearance that the required dust cleanings were performed when they had not been. The company provided the sanitation logbook containing the false May 2017 dust cleaning entries to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) during its investigation of the explosion.

A court sentenced DMI on January 25, 2024, to pay a $1,000,000 fine, complete a five-year term of probation, and pay $10,250,00 in restitution. The company pleaded guilty to falsifying OSHA and EPA records (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3)).

The following employees were sentenced between February 15 – 16, 2024: Former Environmental Manager Joseph Winch was sentenced to two years’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. Winch also will pay a $10,000 fine. Former Shift Superintendent Joel Niemeyer was sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation. Supervisor Michael Bright was sentenced to complete a one-year term of probation. Vice President Shawn Mesner was ordered to serve 24 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release, and pay a $5,000 fine. Food Safety Superintendent Derrick Clark will also serve 24 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Shift Supervisor Anthony Hess was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation.

A jury convicted Mesner and Clark in October 2023 for their role in a catastrophic explosion in May 2017 at the DMI corn milling facility in Cambria, Wisconsin, that killed five employees and wounded others. Specifically, Mesner was convicted of a fraud conspiracy and conspiracy to commit federal offenses (18 U.S.C §§ 1349, 371). Clark was convicted of conspiracy to commit federal offenses, document falsification in contemplation of a federal investigation, false entries in a record within the U.S. EPA jurisdiction, and obstruction of an agency proceeding (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1519, 1001 (a)(3), 1505). Niemeyer and Winch pleaded guilty to conspiring to falsifying documents in matters under the jurisdiction of OSHA and EPA (18 U.S.C. § 371). Hess pleaded guilty to obstructing an OSHA proceeding by making false statements to OSHA and the Department of Labor (18 U.S.C. § 1505). Bright and Booker pleaded guilty to making false statements (18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(3)).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources conducted the investigation.

On March 6, 2024, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment adding a new conspiracy charge against oilfield companies and a company executive. Aghorn Operating, Inc. (Aghorn), Trent Day, and Kodiak Roustabout, Inc. (Kodiak) are now charged as follows: Aghorn and Day with violating 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(1), the general duty clause of the Clean Air Act (CAA); 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(5)(A), CAA knowing endangerment; 18 U.S.C. § 1505, obstruction of an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) proceeding; Aghorn with violating 29 U.S.C. § 666(e), OSHA willful violation causing death to employee; and all three with violating 42 U.S.C. § 300h-2, Safe Drinking Water Act (SWDA), 18 U.S.C. § 1001, false statements, and 18 U.S.C. § 371, conspiracy to violate the CAA and SWDA

Aghorn owns and operates oil wells and leases in Texas. Kodiak performed oilfield support and maintenance services for Aghorn. Day was a vice president for both Aghorn and Kodiak. The CAA and OSHA charges stem from the defendants releasing hydrogen sulfide (and obstructing the investigation) that caused the deaths of Aghorn employee, Jacob Dean, and his wife, Natalee Dean. Both were overcome by hydrogen sulfide at the facility in Odessa.

All three defendants are charged with violating the Safe Drinking Water Act and making false statements regarding the mechanical integrity of Aghorn injection wells in forms and pressure charts filed with the State of Texas Railroad Commission. All three defendants are also now charged with a multi-object conspiracy.

On January 8, 2024, Empire Bulkers, Ltd., was arraigned on probation violation charges. The court sentenced the company in January 2023 to pay $1 million fine and complete four years of probation, subject to the terms of a government approved environmental compliance plan (ECP) to include independent ship audits and supervision by a court-appointed monitor (CAM). The probation allegations, include the following:

1. Empire Bulkers failed to promptly notify the CAM of all reports of non-compliance received from employees. Empire Bulkers waited approximately 14 days before providing the CAM with a report that the Chief Engineer of the M/V Panagiotis discharged bilge water overboard in violation of MARPOL and the ECP.

2. Between October 5, 2023, and October 19, 2023, Empire Bulkers conducted an undisclosed and unilateral investigation into allegations that the Chief Engineer of M/V Panagiotis committed a deliberate violation of MARPOL and the ECP.

3. Empire Bulkers refused to allow the Third-Party Auditor to attend and audit shoreside training required under the ECP.

Empire operated the M/V Joanna, a Marshall Islands registered Bulk Carrier, owned by Joanna Maritime. Between October 25, 2020, and March 11, 2021, the companies tampered with required oil pollution prevention equipment and falsified the ship’s Oil Record Book. The Coast Guard found that the crew bypassed the ship’s Oily Water Separator by inserting a piece of metal into the Oil Content Meter so that it only detected clean water instead of what was the actual overboard discharges. The defendants falsified the log and sought to obstruct the Coast Guard’s inspection.

 The defendants also violated the PWSA by failing to immediately report a hazardous situation that affected the safety of the ship and threatened U.S. ports and waters. During the inspection on March 11, 2021, the Coast Guard discovered an active fuel oil leak in the ship’s purifier room that resulted from disabling the fuel oil heater pressure relief valves, an essential safety feature designed to prevent catastrophic fires and explosions. The companies pleaded guilty to violating APPS and the Ports and Water Ways Safety Act (PWSA) (33 U.S.C. § 1908; 46 U.S.C. § 70036).

The U.S. Coast Guard Criminal Investigations Division conducted the investigation.

On January 5, 2024, Northridge Construction Corporation pleaded guilty to violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) (29 U.S.C. § 666(e). Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2024.

In 2018, during the construction of a shed on Northridge’s property, a company employee fell from an improperly secured roof and died. OSH regulations require companies and employers to maintain the stability of a metal structure during construction. Northridge pleaded guilty to violating this worker safety standard and to making two false statements that obstructed OSHA’s inquiry into the employee’s death.

Richard Zagger, a company superintendent, was indicted in November on conspiracy and obstruction of official proceedings relating to this investigation (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1505).

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted the investigation.

Al’s Asphalt Paving Company, Inc. and Edward D. Swanson pleaded guilty to two counts of entering into and engaging in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by agreeing to rig bids for contracts to provide asphalt paving services in the State of Michigan. Count One charged a conspiracy that began at least as early as March 2013 and continued until at least as late as November 2018. Count Two charged a separate conspiracy that began at least as early as June 2013 and continued until at least as late as June 2019.

On December 21, 2023, a court sentenced Joseph Jensen to pay a $4,250 fine, and complete a two-year term of probation to include six months’  home detention. Jensen also was ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution  to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish Hatchery System. The court sentenced his father, Robert Jenson, in December to similar terms, except he will pay $211, 578 in restitution. The defendants pleaded guilty to making and submitting (and causing to be submitted) false records with respect to fish in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A)(ii), (d)(3)(B)).

The Jensens are enrolled members of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe, who commercially fish Lake Michigan pursuant to licenses issued by their tribe. James and Michael Hermes are non-tribal fish wholesalers doing business as Garden Bay Fisheries, located in Michigan’ s Upper Peninsula. During 2017, the Jensens repeatedly harvested lake trout in excess of established daily trip limits. These fish were purchased by Big Bay de Noc Fisheries (the predecessor to Garden Bay Fisheries), which sold them in interstate commerce. To conceal the illegal nature of the fish, Robert Jensen falsified monthly catch reports filed with the tribe, and Big Bay de Noc Fisheries, with assistance from Joseph Jensen, falsified wholesale reports filed with the State of Michigan.

The court previously sentenced James and Michael Hermes, along with their company Garden Bay Fisheries, for selling illegally possessed fish in interstate commerce and making and submitting false records in violation of the Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(2)). The three defendants are jointly and severally responsible for $180,000 in restitution to be paid to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish Hatchery System (with James and Michael Hermes each paying $90,000), of which $135,000 was paid at the time of sentencing. All three defendants also paid $8,500 in fines. The company will complete a four-year term of probation. James and Michael Hermes will each complete two-year terms of probation to include six-months’  home confinement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Michigan and Wisconsin Departments of Natural Resources.