Two Men Sentenced For Wildlife Trafficking

James L. Porter, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that Billy Michael Reed, 61, of Benton, Illinois, and Matthew Michael Adams, 32, of Arad, Alabama, have pled guilty and have been sentenced on charges of trafficking wildlife under the Lacey Act. On March 21, 2016, and on May 23, 2016, the United States District Court in Benton, Illinois sentenced Reed and Adams, respectively, to one year of probation and ordered each to pay $2,500 in restitution to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources,

Court proceedings indicated that the defendants, who operated M&M Outfitters, an outfitting and guide business, conducted the business for the hunting deer without the required permits and had such deer transported outside the state to Pennsylvania. The Illinois Wildlife Code requires that, before any person provides or offers to provide, for compensation, outfitting services for deer hunting, the person must apply for and receive a permit from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Federal law prohibits the interstate transport of illegally-gotten game.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Office of Law Enforcement and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Conservation Police. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William E. Coonan.