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Environmental Crimes Bulletin - July 2024

News2024-08-12
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In This Issue:

AnchorCases by District/Circuit

District/CircuitCase NameStatute(s)
District of AlaskaUnited States v. Corey Potter, et al.Crab Shipments/Lacey Act
Eastern District of CaliforniaUnited States v. Custodio Ibarra Nunez, et al.Marijuana Public Lands/Conspiracy, Depredation to Public Land, Drugs
United States v. Jorge Calderon-Campos, et al.Bird Fighting/ Animal Venture, Drugs
Southern District of CaliforniaUnited States v. Juan MejoradoPesticide Smuggling/Conspiracy
Middle District of FloridaUnited States v. Manuel Domingos PitaWorker Death/Conspiracy, Occupational Safety and Health Act
District of IdahoUnited States v. Brian Tibbets, et al.Asbestos Removal/Clean Air Act, Obstructing a Proceeding
United States v. GDP Tuning, et al.Emissions Tampering/Clean Air Act
District of MaineUnited States v. Western Sea, Inc., et al.Fisheries/Conspiracy, False Statements, Falsified Fishing Records, Lacey Act, Tax
District of MarylandUnited States v. Mario Flythe, et al.Dog Fighting/Animal Venture, Conspiracy, Racketeering
Eastern District of New YorkUnited States v. Northridge Construction Corp., et al.Worker Death/Conspiracy, Obstruction, Occupational Safety and Health Act
United States v. Christopher Winkler, et al.Fisheries Fraud/Conspiracy, Mail Fraud, Obstruction of Justice
Western District of TexasUnited States v. Paul Jacob Elliott SommersReptile Trafficking/Conspiracy, Smuggling
District of UtahUnited States v. Wade Lemon, et al.Cougar Hunts/Lacey Act, Natural Resource Protection

AnchorIndictments

United States v. Paul Jacob Elliott Sommers

On July 24, 2024, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Paul Jacob Elliott Sommers with one count of conspiracy to smuggle wildlife and two counts of smuggling wildlife into the United States (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 545).

The indictment stems from an investigation into illegal wildlife trafficking from Mexico into the U.S. which uncovered Mexico-based reptile suppliers who connected with U.S. based-customers. From approximately August 2014 through October 2019, Sommers actively sought to purchase wildlife from Mexico, coordinating with others to capture and transport the animals across the El Paso border so that Sommers could sell the animals to his customers.

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

AnchorGuilty Pleas

United States v. Manuel Domingos Pita

On July 9, 2024, Manuel Domingos Pita pleaded guilty to a wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act for causing the death of an employee (18 U.S.C. § 371; 29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).

Pita created and operated several shell construction companies, including one named Domingos 54 Construction, Inc. (Domingos 54). Starting in May 2018, Pita reported that the business paid and employed very few employees. Yet, between 2018 and March 2022, he and his co-conspirators deposited a large amount of money in checks from construction contractors and withdrew most of that money in cash from several bank accounts associated with Domingos 54.

Authorities previously cited Domingos 54 for workplace violations. Specifically, between February and July 2019, Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators issued six citations for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Despite his involvement in settling these violations, Pita did not enforce fall protection requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home, approximately 10 feet above the ground. None of the employees used fall protection gear. Due to windy conditions, a worker was blown off the roof and died from his injuries.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

United States v. Northridge Construction Corp., et al.

On July 9, 2024, Richard Zagger pleaded guilty to conspiracy and obstruction of official proceedings (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1505). Sentencing is scheduled for October 16, 2024. Northridge Construction Corporation previously pleaded guilty to violating the Occupational Safety and Health Act and was sentenced on August 6, 2024 to pay a $100,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation, which will require, among other conditions, increased safety training for Northridge employees(29 U.S.C. § 666(e)).

In 2018 Northridge employees built a metal shed on the Northridge property. Zagger oversaw the project as a company supervisor. During the construction, one of the employees fell from the improperly secured roof and died from his injuries.

 Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations require companies and employers to maintain the stability of a metal structure during construction. The defendants violated this worker safety standard and made false statements that obstructed the investigation into the employee’s death.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration conducted the investigation.

United States v. Corey Potter, et al.

On July 10, 2024, Kyle Potter pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting crab from Alaska (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for October 22, 2024.

Corey Potter owns two crab catching vessels, and Justin Welch and Kyle Potter worked as vessel captains. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested more than 7,000 pounds of Tanner and Golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter directed Welch and Kyle Potter to take the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. Neither captain landed the harvested crab at a port in Alaska, and they never recorded the harvest on a fish ticket, as required under state law.

A large portion of the king crab that arrived in Seattle from Alaska had died and was unmarketable. Corey Potter knew that some of the crab aboard was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease fatal to crustaceans. Officials were forced to destroy more than 4,000 additional pounds of Tanner crab due to the risk of BCS infection. If the defendants had properly landed the crab in Alaska, authorities could have inspected the harvest and removed the infected crab before leaving Alaska.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Brian Tibbets, et al.

On July 17, 2024, Brian Tibbets pleaded guilty to one count of obstructing a pending proceeding (18 U.S.C. § 1505). Tibbets previously pleaded guilty to one count of failure to inspect in violation of the Clean Air Act (CAA) (42 U.S.C. § 7413), a count that was subsequently dismissed. Co-defendant Brek Pilling is scheduled for sentencing on August 14, 2024. Both failed to inspect a facility for the presence of asbestos prior to commencing a demolition project.

In late 2017, Pilling and Tibbets purchased two buildings in Burley, Idaho, planning to demolish them and build a parking lot. During a walkthrough with city officials, the building inspector pointed out likely asbestos-containing material (ACM). In further communications with the city (prior to negotiations breaking down), other city employees also warned the owners about the presence of ACM and the need for remediation. The defendants took “samples” from the buildings that included wood, brick, and stone (but no building materials that could plausibly be composed of ACM) and submitted those to a forensic lab for analysis.

In January 2018, both buildings caught fire under suspicious circumstances. After seeing the fire on the news, a local contractor contacted the owners and offered to demolish what remained of the buildings using his own asbestos inspector and remediation company. The owners accepted the contractor’s bid but said they would hire their own remediation company. Two days later, the contractor saw the buildings under demolition. The owners chose to hire an individual to knock them down without conducting any asbestos abatement. During the demolition, several truckloads of debris were hauled to a nearby landfill. The defendants also lied to an inspector during a subsequent conversation about onsite testing. The National Enforcement Investigation Center analyzed samples taken from the sites and found multiple areas with ACM. The Environmental Protection Agency ultimately oversaw the removal of approximately 860 tons of asbestos-contaminated demolition debris from the site, at a cost of approximately $845,000.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

United States v. Mario Flythe, et al.

On July 23, 2024, Mario Flythe pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in animal fighting, specifically the fighting of dogs, and interstate travel in aid of racketeering (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1952). Sentencing is scheduled for October 24, 2024.

Between November 2018 and September 2023, Flythe and co-defendant Frederick Douglass Moorfield, Jr., operated a kennel called “Razor Sharp Kennels,” using Flythe’s residence to keep, train, and breed fighting dogs.

Flythe’s cellphone revealed numerous message exchanges regarding dogfighting—primarily over the instant messaging applications WhatsApp and Telegram—with members of a group known as the “DMV Board.” In addition to arranging dog fights and wagers, Flythe and the DMV Board discussed the breeding and training of fighting dogs, procuring supplies for the maintenance and feeding of fighting dogs, and criminal prosecutions of dogfighters. In some exchanges, Flythe and others discussed indictments of other members of the DMV Board and speculated about the identity of a potential “snitch.”

Flythe’s instant messages also contained several exchanges in which he arranged dogfights. In those conversations, Flythe identified the weight and sex of the dog he wanted to sponsor in a fight. Other dogfighters then proposed a fight against their own dog or matched Flythe with another of their contacts who had a dog in the same weight class. The dogfighters would then agree on wagers and set a date for the fight, usually six to eight weeks after the match was made.

On several occasions between 2019 and 2023, Flythe received monetary payments through CashApp related to his participation in dogfighting conduct. Flythe also sent money to dogfighting contacts in connection with the dogfighting enterprise.

After executing a search of Flythe’s residence in September 2023, investigators recovered seven pit bull-type dogs from the premises. Four dogs were found chained to posts or poles in fenced-in cages in the property’s back yard, and three dogs were found in large metal cages in the basement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense Criminal Investigation Service, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jorge Calderon-Campos, et al.

On July 29, 2024, two defendants pleaded guilty to drug and animal welfare violations. Jorge Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and heroin and also pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of animals for an animal fighting venture in violation of the Animal Welfare Act (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1),(b)(1)(A)); 7 U.S.C. § 2156(b), 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)). Jose Angel Beltran-Chaidez pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute heroin (21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1),(b)(1)(A)). Calderon-Campos is scheduled for sentencing on October 21, 2024, and Jose Beltran-Chaidez is set for November 4, 2024.

On March 30, 2021, Calderon-Campos (who calls himself “Americano”) supplied 26 pounds of methamphetamine to co-defendants Mark Garcia and Alberto Gomez-Santiago. Between January and April 2022, Calderon-Campos also possessed roosters he used to participate in an animal fighting venture. During a search of his residence on April 26, 2022, law enforcement officers found numerous hens and roosters, various cockfighting implements (including razors and spurs) and six cockfighting trophies, including several with plates inscribed with “Team Amkno” (shorthand for “Team Americano”). At Calderon-Campos’s “stash house”, law enforcement officers found 14 hens and 77 roosters, cockfighting leashes, a cockfighting trophy, various types of syringes and pill bottles containing substances believed to be related to cockfighting supplements.

On January 27, 2022, Jose Beltran-Chaidez, at the direction of his brother Antonio Beltran-Chaidez, delivered more than two pounds of heroin to Calderon-Campos to sell. However, when Calderon-Campos was unable to sell the drug, Beltran-Chaidez took it back. A California Highway Patrol officer subsequently stopped Beltran-Chaidez for a traffic violation and found the heroin.

Antonio Beltran-Chaidez previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing on August 26, 2024. Gomez-Santiago pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years and nine months in prison. The two remaining co-defendants, Byron Adilio Alfaro-Sandoval and Mark Garcia are scheduled for trial to begin on January 28, 2025.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff's Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department.

AnchorSentencings

United States v. Christopher Winkler, et al.

On July 11, 2024, a court sentenced Long Island fisherman Christopher Winkler to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by two years of supervised release. A jury found Winkler guilty on all counts following a three-week trial in October 2023. Winkler was charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1341, 1519). Winkler, a commercial fisherman and the captain of the F/V New Age, conspired to commit mail fraud, obstruct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the falsification of fishing logs, and unlawfully frustrate NOAA’s efforts to regulate federal fisheries by participating in a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1341, 1519).

On at least 200 fishing trips between 2014 and 2017, Winkler targeted summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass and harvested those fish in excess of quotas and state trip limits. He also falsified Fishing Vessel Trip Reports (FVTRs) for those trips. In a related case, Bryan and Asa Gosman and the company they partially own — Bob Gossman Co., Inc. — previously pleaded guilty for their role in the fishing fraud conspiracy. In total, the co-conspirators overharvested approximately 200,000 pounds of fluke and black sea bass, with a conservative wholesale valuation of $750,000. The remaining defendants are scheduled for sentencing on November 12, 2024.

Under federal law, a fishing captain is required to accurately detail his catch on a form known as an FVTR, which is mailed to NOAA. Similarly, the first company that buys fish directly from a fishing vessel, termed a fish dealer, is required to record what it purchases on a federal form known as a dealer report. NOAA relies on this information to set policies designed to ensure a sustainable fishery.

Initiated as part of Operation One-Way Chandelier, the cases are part of a multi-year, ongoing investigation into fisheries fraud on Long Island. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

United States v. Juan Mejorado

On July 11, 2024, a court sentenced Juan Mejorado to time served, followed by 12 months of supervised release. Mejorado also will pay $2,500 in restitution. Mejorado pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act for distributing an unregistered pesticide (18 U.S.C. § 371).

On May 7, 2020, a co-conspirator entered the United States from Mexico with 10 bottles of undeclared Bovitraz at Mejorado’s direction. On September 1, 2023, Mejorado directed two additional co-conspirators to enter the United States from Mexico with 42 bottles of undeclared Taktic. On November 3, 2022, Mejorado sold the Taktic and Bovitraz to a fourth co-conspirator in Mentone, California, for $10,400.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

United States v. Western Sea, Inc., et al.

On July 11, 2024, a court sentenced the final six defendants in this complex case involving illegal commercial fishing.

The Western Sea is a fishing vessel that operated out of Rockland, Maine, and fished for Atlantic herring. Atlantic herring is the primary bait fish for Maine’s lobster industry. Operators of fishing vessels in the Atlantic herring fishery must comply with restrictions on fishing areas, seasonal access, gear usage, and limits on the quantity or weight of fish caught. To ensure a sustainable fishery for a particular species, authorities with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) set quotas and catch limits for commercial fishing vessels. These vessels must complete a Fishing Vessel Trip Report (FVTR) at the end of each fishing trip, reporting all species caught, the weight of each catch, and the dealers to whom the catch is sold.

Between June 2016 and September 2019, members of the Western Sea crew conspired to submit false FVTRs to NOAA. The Western Sea, acting through its owner, captains, and crew, sold Atlantic herring to purchasers who paid the crew directly via check or cash, including to some purchasers who were not federally permitted dealers of Atlantic herring. Members of the crew received shares of this money at the end of fishing weeks. The vessel often landed more than the quantity of herring allowed under weekly catch limits. The defendants submitted false FVTRs to NOAA to conceal the conduct and Western Sea, Inc., issued inaccurate 1099 forms to crew members that failed to report all income. The court handed down the following sentences:

The court previously sentenced the following defendants:

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Maine Marine Patrol conducted the investigation.

United States v. Custodio Ibarra Nunez, et al.

On July 15, 2024, a court sentenced Custodio Ibarra Nunez to 10 years’ incarceration, followed by five years’ supervised release, and ordered him to pay $17,930 in restitution to the U.S. Forest Service. Nunez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cultivate marijuana, marijuana cultivation, and depredation of public lands in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest (21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 846; 18 U.S.C. § 1361).

Between May 2019 and July 2019, Nunez managed the cultivation of more than 4,000 marijuana plants grown in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest with co-conspirators Francisco Madrigal Magana and Mario Alberto Lopez Pena. Following their arrest on site, a court later sentenced Magana and Pena to 18 months and 24 months in prison, respectively, for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana and depredation of public lands and resources.

Nunez was not present during the law enforcement raid, but subsequent investigation led to authorities identifying and locating him. After executing a search of his residence, authorities discovered marijuana plants, marijuana cultivation tools and supplies, vacuum sealing devices, and packaging material, including evidence of USPS tracking receipts for shipments across the county.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management, the Trinity County District Attorney’s Office the Merced Area Gang and Narcotics Team, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office, the Atwater Police Department, and the Redding Police Department conducted the investigation.

United States v. Wade Lemon, et al.

On July 22, 2024, and July 18, 2024, a court sentenced a big game outfitter and his employee for violations stemming from illegal cougar hunts. Licensed outfitter Wade Lemon will pay a $10,500 fine, serve two months’ incarceration, and one year of supervised release, during which he is banned from federal land. Kasey Yardley will complete a six-month term of probation and is also banned from federal land. Both pleaded guilty to a natural resource protection infraction; Lemon also pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act misdemeanor violation (49 CFR § 9264.1(h); 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372 (a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(2))

Lemon owns and operates Wade Lemon Hunting, which is based in Holden, Utah. Lemon advertises his business on his website and boasts nearly 100% success rates yearly. On January 24, 2021, and December 15, 2020, Lemon illegally participated in “canned” mountain lion hunts on Federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Forest Service land. Utah law prohibits “canned hunts” of mountain lions. A canned hunt means that a cougar is treed, cornered, held at bay or its ability to escape is otherwise restricted to allow a person who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and take the cougar. The Lacey Act prohibits selling in interstate commerce any wildlife taken or sold in violation of state law.

Yardley worked for Lemon as a cougar hunting guide and houndsman. On December 15, 2020, while on the BLM land, Yardley helped to keep a cougar from escaping to allow a hunter who was not a member of the initial hunting party to arrive and take the cougar.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office and the U.S. Forest Service conducted the investigation.

United States v. GDP Tuning, et al.

On July 30, 2024, a court sentenced Barry Pierce and his two companies, GDP Tuning and Custom Auto of Rexburg, d/b/a Gorilla Performance for tampering with emissions control systems and selling tampering software. Pierce will serve four months’ incarceration. GDP Tuning and Gorilla Performance will complete five-year terms of probation. All defendants were ordered to jointly pay a $1 million fine.

Between 2016 and 2020, the defendants tampered with a required monitoring device by removing emissions control devices (often referred to as “deleting”) from more than 200 diesel trucks and reprogrammed (“tuned”) the onboard diagnostic systems to enable them to function without the emissions equipment. Pierce told Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inspectors in 2018 that his companies sold kits to delete trucks and products to tune them, including tunes and tuners. In response to EPA’s later follow-up, GDP Tuning produced sales data indicating that it sold more than 20,000 tuning products for approximately $14 million in revenue acquired between January 2018 and August 2019.

The defendants pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.

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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

Source: Justice.gov

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