Environmental Crimes Bulletin - January 2026

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In This Issue:

• Cases by District/Circuit
• Recently Charged
• Guilty Pleas
• Sentencings

Cases by District/Circuit

District/Circuit	Case Name	Conduct/Statute(s)
District of Arizona	United States v. Francisco Antonio Saenz Olivas	Falsified State Inspection Emissions Tests; Clean Air Act
Eastern District of California	United States v. Jason K. Bruce, et al.	Wild Sheep Trophy Smuggling; Conspiracy; Lacey Act
Northern District of California	United States v. Futseng Chen	Exotic Fish Smuggling; Lacey Act
Southern District of California	United States v. Juandaniel Medina	Parrot Smuggling; Lacey Act
	United States v. Alejandro Hernandez	Sea Turtle Boots Smuggling; Conspiracy
	United States v. Naim Lajud Libien	Parakeet Smuggling
Southern District of Iowa	United States v. Joseph T. Lamb	Geese Killing; Migratory Bird Treaty Act
Eastern District of Kentucky	United States v. Joshua Ferguson	Brine Water Discharges; Clean Water Act
District of Massachusetts	United States v. Adam Bied	Wildlife Parts Smuggling; Conspiracy; Lacey Act
Western District of Michigan	United States v. Scott Hitchcock	Snake Trafficking; Lacey Act
Southern District of Ohio	United States v. Garrett Fitzgerald, et al.	Animal Crush Videos; Conspiracy
	United States v. Robert M. Craig, et al.	Animal Crush Videos; Conspiracy
District of Oregon	United States v. Kayla Hartley	Industrial Wastewater Discharges; Clean Water Act; Conspiracy
District of Rhode Island	United States v. Luis Castillo, et al.	Bird Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture; Animal Welfare Act
Northern District of Texas	United States v. Thao Duong; United States v. Lam Mai	Pesticide and Veterinary Drug Sales; Conspiracy
	United States v. Salvador Sanchez Chavez, et al.	Bird Fighting; Animal Welfare Act; Animal Fighting Venture
Southern District of Texas	United States v. Virdiana I. Gonzalez, et al.	Antelope Smuggling; Conspiracy; Lacey Act
	United States v. Janely Aylin Vela	Monkey Smuggling; Lacey Act
	United States v. Julio Cesar Mauricio	Refrigerant Smuggling

Recently Charged

United States v. Joshua Ferguson

• No. 0:26-CR-00021 (Eastern District of Kentucky)
• AUSA Emily Greenfield

On January 15, 2026, prosecutors filed an indictment charging Joshua Ferguson, the owner and operator of oil production wells in Lawrence County, Kentucky, with violating the Clean Water Act for illegally discharging a pollutant into a water of the United States without a permit (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a),1319(c)(2)(A)).

Ferguson maintained production wells and tanks to collect wastewater, known as "produced" or "brine" water, which is a pollutant. On September 3, 2025, Ferguson discharged a tank containing brine water into the Left Fork Blaine Creek through a hose.

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

Guilty Pleas

United States v. Adam Bied

• No. 1:24-CR-10171 (District of Massachusetts)
• AUSA Jason Casey
• AUSA Carol Head

On January 5, 2026, Adam Bied pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy for smuggling wildlife parts into the United States, and two counts of Lacey Act trafficking (18 U.S.C. § 371; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(1)(A)). The wildlife species that Bied trafficked are all listed in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2026.

Between January 2018 through June 2021, Bied bought, sold, and traded wildlife parts and products, knowing that many of the transactions were in violation of U.S. laws and regulations. Bied placed orders with individuals in Cameroon and Indonesia who were in the businesses of killing and acquiring wildlife (including endangered and protected species), which he then resold or traded to customers in the United States. Bied did not possess a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) import/export license or necessary CITES permits and failed to declare the wildlife to inspectors upon import. Instead, Bied and his co-conspirators concealed wildlife parts from U.S. authorities by falsely labeling them, for example, as "decorative masks" and "rodents".

Bied also consented to the civil forfeiture of more than 100 wildlife parts from endangered, threatened, or protected species seized by the USFWS in July 2021 from Bied's residence, storage unit, and vehicle.

Among the seized wildlife parts were skulls from the following species: pangolin, orangutan, chimpanzee, tiger, polar bear, elephant seal and jackal.

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

Related Press Release: District of Massachusetts | Massachusetts Man Pleads Guilty to Wildlife Trafficking | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Virdiana I. Gonzalez, et al.

• No. 5:25-CR-01564 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Tory Sailer
• AUSA Melissa Lopez

On January 6, 2026, Virdiana I. Gonzalez pleaded guilty to conspiracy, smuggling, and violating the Lacey Act for smuggling an Arabian oryx (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 554; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)).

This species of antelope is native to the Arabian Peninsula and prized for its long, straight horns, white coat, and ability to survive on minimal water. By the late 1960s, it became extinct in the wild due to hunting. Through the development of captive populations and conservation efforts, the species made a comeback in countries like Oman and Saudi Arabia in the 1970s.

On October 2, 2021, an unnamed person attempted to drive a truck containing an oryx over the border from Laredo, Texas, into Mexico. The truck and trailer were registered to Gonzalez. The driver of the truck told inspectors that Gonzalez's co-defendant, Arturo Maldonado, paid him $300 to transport the animal over the border.

Gonzalez knew that her vehicle and trailer were being used to illegally transport the oryx into Mexico without the required licenses, and she consented to the use of her vehicle and trailer for that purpose. Maldonado pleaded guilty to similar charges.

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

Arabian oryx photo included in the indictment

United States v. Francisco Antonio Saenz Olivas

• No. 2:25-CR-01577 (District of Arizona)
• ECS Trial Attorney Emily Stone
• AUSA Aron Ketchel

On January 13, 2026, Francisco Antonio Saenz Olivas pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for his role in running a mobile business that temporarily installed onboard computer simulators (also known as aftermarket defeat devices) to produce fraudulent passing emissions tests required by the State of Arizona to register a vehicle (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(A)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 22, 2026.

Olivas (or his employee) would meet customers in local business parking lots and temporarily install hidden devices in vehicles. They would then drive the vehicles through the state sanctioned emissions testing site, return to the parking lot, remove the devices, and present the fraudulently obtained passing emissions test paperwork to customers to use when registering their vehicles with the State of Arizona. Olivas's business exclusively performed installations to defeat state required emissions testing and did not perform any legitimate auto repair work.

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

United States v. Thao Duong

United States v. Lam Mai

• Nos. 3:25-CR-000511, 00512 (Northern District of Texas)
• ECS Trial Attorney Lauren Steele
• AUSA Vincent J. Mazzurco

On January 20, 2026, Thao Duong and Lam Mai pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges stemming from their selling pesticides and veterinary drugs online (18 U.S.C. § 371). Sentencing is scheduled for June 9, 2026.

Duong established a website, Cobyfarm.com, and sold products to customers throughout the United States. Some of the products she sold were made in Mexico. Duong conspired with others to smuggle these products into the United States. Duong's husband, Lam Mai, worked as the shipping manager for the business and pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. § 331(a)), which regulates veterinary drugs, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B)), which governs the use and distribution of pesticides.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency conducted the investigation, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Related Press Release: Office of Public Affairs | Texas Couple Pleads Guilty for Operating Website Selling Smuggled Pesticides and Veterinary Drugs | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Luis Castillo, et al.

• No. 1:24-CR-00075 (District of Rhode Island)
• ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Gary Donner
• AUSA John McAdams
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On January 20, 2026, Luis Castillo pleaded guilty to sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1)). Sentencing is scheduled for April 21, 2026.

Castillo is one of six defendants charged with violating the Animal Welfare Act in connection with a cockfighting operation. On March 6, 2022, Miguel Delgado hosted a series of individual cockfights, known as "derbies," at his Providence home. Delgado is also charged with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters in an animal fighting venture on multiple dates, buying and transporting sharp instruments, or "gaffs," for use in the cockfights, and unlawfully possessing roosters for use in an animal fighting venture.

Antonio Ledee Rivera and Onill Vasquez Lozada were charged with unlawfully possessing roosters for use in an animal fighting venture in April 2021 and for sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at the March 2022 derby at Delgado's home. Rivera was also charged in connection with an earlier derby at Delgado's home.

Germidez Kingsley Jamie, Jose Rivera, and Castillo are charged with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at an animal fighting venture for participating in the March 2022 derby. Jamie and Jose Rivera are also charged with one count of buying and transporting gaffs for use in an animal fighting venture.

The Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the Postal Inspection Service, the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation, and the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals conducted the investigation. The following agencies also assisted: the U.S. Marshals Service; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Rhode Island State Police; Massachusetts State Police; Animal Rescue League of Boston's Law Enforcement Division; and Providence, Woonsocket, and Attleboro, Massachusetts, Police Departments.

United States v. Kayla Hartley

• No. 3:25-CR-00295 (District of Oregon)
• AUSA Andrew Ho
• AUSA William M. McLaren
• RCEC Gwendolyn Russell

On January 21, 2026, Kayla Hartley pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Clean Water Act for illegally receiving and discharging industrial wastewater from a facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, to a sanitary sewer system (18 U.S.C. § 371; 33 U.S.C. §§ 1317(d), 1319(c)(2)(A)). Sentencing is scheduled for May 12, 2026.

Bay Area Concrete, LLC, was a California-based company that operated construction slurry dewatering facilities in California, Oregon, and Washington. Northwest Slurry Solutions and Hydro Excavation, LLC (Northwest Slurry), was an Oregon-based company that operated Bay Area Concrete's facility in Hillsboro, Oregon, where it received, processed, and disposed of hydro excavation slurry. The facility did not have an industrial wastewater discharge permit and was only allowed to discharge slurry wastewater into the sanitary sewer system.

Clean Water Services (CWS) operated the sanitary sewer system in Hillsboro and implemented the industrial wastewater discharge permit program.

Hartley worked as the Director of Operations at the Hillsboro facility. She marketed the company as capable of accepting and processing industrial wastewater for disposal that contained chemicals they were not permitted to accept.

Between February and September 2020, under Hartley's leadership, Northwest Slurry accepted approximately 500,000 gallons of industrial wastewater containing hydrofluoric acid, titanium, molybdenum, vanadium, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Northwest Slurry discharged this wastewater into the Hillsboro sanitary sewer, without a permit.

When CWS regulators met with Hartley, they explained that she needed to have an industrial waste discharge permit to receive wastewater trucked to the Hillsboro facility. Hartley then submitted an application but claimed the facility would only process "clean slurry" and "oily slurry," which she knew to be false.

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

Related Press Release: District of Oregon | Troutdale Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Violate the Clean Water Act for Discharging 500,000 Gallons of Pollutants in Hillsboro | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Robert M. Craig, et al.

• No. 2:25-CR-00071 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Trial Attorney Mark Romley
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Nicole Pakiz
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On January 22, 2025, Robert M. Craig pleaded guilty to conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C. § 371). Co-defendant Katrina D. Favret pleaded guilty to creating and distributing animal crush videos along with a conspiracy charge in November 2025 (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), 48(a)(3)).

The defendants were involved in online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera.

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

Related Press Release: Office of Public Affairs | North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to Creation and Distribution of Videos Depicting Animal Torture and Mutilation | United States Department of Justice

Sentencings

United States v. Juandaniel Medina

• No. 25-CR-2786 (Southern District of California)
• AUSA Evangeline Dech

On December 1, 2025, a court sentenced Juandaniel Medina to pay a $1,486 fine into the Lacey Act Reward Fund and $1,000 in restitution to SoCal Parrot, an organization that rescues and rehabilitates wild and urban parrots. Medina pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for importing endangered exotic birds (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(A)).

On May 26, 2025, authorities detained Medina at the San Ysidro Port of Entry after discovering seven live Amazon parrots in a cardboard box on the passenger floorboard of his car. Medina was the driver and registered owner of the vehicle. He admitted paying $700 cash for the parrots with the intention of breeding and/or reselling them in the United States. All Amazon parrot species are listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Smuggled birds that are not subject to quarantine may carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu) and other diseases. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia, and death in humans and other birds, including those housed on poultry farms.

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

United States v. Alejandro Hernandez

• No. 5:25-CR-00385 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Bryan L. Oliver
• AUSA Christine Cortez

On January 5, 2026, a court sentenced Alejandro Hernandez to complete a three-year term of probation and perform 50 hours of community service. Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Hernandez operated an online store where he advertised selling custom boots made from any animal skin. In June 2024, he sold a pair of boots made from sea turtle leather to an undercover agent for $900. Hernandez told the agent that he knew it was illegal to make and sell products using sea turtle leather. He manufactured the boots in Guanajuato, Mexico, and the agent received them in Houston in October 2024.

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

United States v. Scott Hitchcock

• No. 1:25-CR-00131 (Western District of Michigan)
• ECS Trial Attorney Lauren Steele
• AUSA Jonathan Roth

On January 6, 2026, a court sentenced Scott Hitchcock to pay a $4,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Hitchcock pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for trafficking in snakes protected under the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), 3373(d)(2)).

Hitchcock purchased two Louisiana pine snakes and one black pine snake for a total of $1,000 from undercover officers and transported them from Indiana to Michigan.

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

United States v. Garrett Fitzgerald, et al.

• No. 2:25-CR-00052 (Southern District of Ohio)
• ECS Trial Attorney Mark Romley
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
• AUSA Nicole Pakiz
• ECS Paralegal Chloe Harris

On January 8, 2026, a court sentenced Garrett Fitzgerald to 30 months of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Fitzgerald will also perform 100 hours of community service. Fitzgerald pleaded guilty to conspiracy for his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Fitzgerald conspired with co-defendants Robert Berndt, Ronald P. Bedra, and others to create and distribute so-called "monkey crush videos," which are videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against juvenile and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera. Berndt was sentenced to 38 months' incarceration, and Bedra will serve 54 months' incarceration.

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

United States v. Janely Aylin Vela

• No. 5:25-CR-01100 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Torie Sailor

On January 14, 2026, a court sentenced Janely Aylin Vela to serve six months of incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release, and to perform 40 hours of community service. The court further ordered her to forfeit $5,356.

Vela pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for attempting to illegally import wildlife, specifically, two Capuchin monkeys, into the United States (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2), 3373(d)(1)(A)).

On June 9, 2025, a county deputy stopped Vela's car on an interstate in La Salle County, Texas. During the traffic stop, the deputy noted a covered item in the rear seat. When he asked what was in the back, Vela answered "her monkeys." Further investigation determined that the monkeys were Capuchin monkeys and that Vela did not have the proper licenses to possess them.

Upon further questioning, Vela admitted she planned to smuggle the two monkeys for a co-conspirator. She took the animals from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and would have earned $500 to transport them to San Antonio, Texas.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Capuchin monkey photo included with plea agreement

United States v. Futseng Chen

• No. 24-CR-00445 (Northern District of California)
• AUSA David Ward

On January 16, 2026, a court sentenced Futseng Chen to complete a five-year term of probation and to pay $41,292 in restitution to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for smuggling and Lacey Act false labeling violations (18 U.S.C. § 554(a); 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A)). The court dismissed charges against Chen's company Sealogic International Inc. (Sealogic) when Chen produced proof that he had closed the business and dissolved the corporation.

Sealogic imported live tropical fish from Central America into the United States and then exported the fish to Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, China, Japan, and other countries.

Between January 2018 and December 2024, Chen, through Sealogic, smuggled approximately 200 shipments from the United States. He falsely labeled an additional 79 shipments of live tropical fish to avoid paying the export fees. The combined value of the smuggled and falsely labeled wildlife was $1,415,373.

After prosecutors indicted Chen and his company in August 2024, Chen was notified in writing by USFWS that the agency had suspended Sealogic's Wildlife Import/Export License, which barred Chen from importing and exporting any wildlife items.

Despite this prohibition, Chen continued to import and export wildlife. Between August 2024 and December 2024, he conspired with another individual to use that person's dormant license to resume his activities. Chen paid the individual between $500 and $1,200 per shipment to use her license. During this time, Chen made 52 imports and 10 exports of live tropical fish and coral.

Chen is a recidivist offender with a history of wildlife import and export crimes. In 2009, a court sentenced Chen to probation for similar Lacey Act violations.

The USFWS Office of Law Enforcement; Homeland Security Investigations; and the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security, Office of Export Enforcement, conducted the investigation, with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

United States v. Salvador Sanchez Chavez, et al.

• No. 2:25-CR-00015 (Northern District of Texas)
• AUSA Callie Woolam
• AUSA Anna Marie Bell

On January 23, 2026, a court sentenced Salvador Sanchez Chavez to 11 months' incarceration followed by 12 months of supervised release. Chavez pleaded guilty to attending an animal fighting venture related to a February 10, 2024, cockfight at an Amarillo property (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(2)(A); 18 U.S.C. § 49(b)).

On February 10, 2024, deputies from the Potter County Sheriff's Office responded to complaints of possible illegal activity taking place at a property in Amarillo. Upon arrival, they observed cockfighting, multiple dead roosters, more than 160 live fighting roosters, metal blades (or "gaffs") intended to be affixed to the roosters' legs for fighting, syringes and medications, and other items indicative of a cockfighting operation.

Co-defendant Ivan Herrera Lopez owned the property where the February 2024 cockfighting derby was held. He also bred, housed, fed, or sold roosters for the purpose of fighting. Chavez brought two roosters to Lopez's property that day to fight, along with gaffs. Chavez traveled to New Mexico for other cockfighting events and possessed and produced photographs of dead roosters, animal steroid photos, and videos of cockfighting on his phone.

Co-defendant Jaime Gaimez Resendiz drove roosters to the February derby in a vehicle he owned that was specifically modified to transport the birds. Resendiz also attended the event. Messages on Lopez's phone included discussions between Lopez and Resendiz about cockfighting derby dates and locations starting in 2022.

Lopez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture (18 U.S.C. § 371) and was sentenced to serve eight months' incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release, and to pay a $10,000 fine. Resendiz pleaded guilty to unlawful use of an interstate instrumentality for promoting or furthering an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(c); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)) and was sentenced to eight months' incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release.

Texas Game Wardens and members of the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Amarillo removed the roosters to evaluate them for further care.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Potter County Sheriff's Office, Texas State Game Wardens, the Amarillo Police Department, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted the investigation along with members from the Wild West Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

Related Press Release: Northern District of Texas | Third Defendant Involved in Amarillo Cockfighting Ring Sentenced to Federal Prison | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Naim Lajud Libien

• No. 3:25-CR-01846 (Southern District of California)
• AUSA Emily Allen
• AUSA Elizabet Brown

On January 26, 2026, a court sentenced Naim Lajud Libien to time served, followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay $2,332 in restitution into the Lacey Act Reward Fund. Libien pleaded guilty to smuggling 12 protected orange-fronted parakeets into the United States from Mexico (18 U.S.C. § 545.)

On April 29, 2025, Lajud Libien, a citizen of Mexico, attempted to cross the border in his vehicle after presenting a Border Crossing Card at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. He was diverted to secondary inspection. Once he stepped outside of his Jeep Grand Cherokee, the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer noticed bulges around his ankles. The officer conducted a pat down and discovered birds wrapped in nylon stockings concealed inside the driver's boots. Some of the birds appeared to have injuries on their feet where they had been tied.

The next day, CBP personnel heard birds calling from the defendant's impounded vehicle. Officials dismantled the car, ultimately locating six more parakeets inside the seat cushion of the vehicle's passenger seat. The birds were bound in pantyhose, and two had died.

Orange-fronted parakeets are native to Western Mexico and Costa Rica and are listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

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

United States v. Joseph T. Lamb

• No. 4:25-CR-00091 (Southern District of Iowa)
• AUSA Debra Mendenhall

On January 26, 2026, a court sentenced Joseph T. Lamb to pay a $2,000 fine and complete a six-month term of probation for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 703(a), 707(a)).

On June 10, 2025, Lamb drove his vehicle into a flock of Canada Geese on State Street in Ankeny, Iowa. Lamb stopped to let a flock of nine geese cross in front of his vehicle. When the geese were in the middle of his lane, he accelerated into the geese, killing one of the birds. An area business captured the event on camera across the street and contacted local police.

The Ankeny Police Department conducted the investigation, with assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement.

Still shot from video of Lamb's truck accelerating into the flock of geese.

Related Press Release: Southern District of Iowa | Ankeny Man Sentenced to Probation for Violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Julio Cesar Mauricio

• No. 5:25-CR-01163 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Bryan Oliver

On January 27, 2026, a court sentenced Julio Cesar Mauricio to 48 days of time served followed by two years of supervised release. Mauricio pleaded guilty to smuggling hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) (18 U.S.C. § 545)

On August 30, 2024, Mauricio attempted to import seven 24-pound cannisters of HFC into Texas from Mexico.

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

United States v. Jason K. Bruce, et al.

• No. 2:23-CR-00080 (Eastern District of California)
• AUSA Katherine Lydon
• AUSA Whitnee Goins

On January 27, 2026, a court sentenced Jason K. Bruce to serve six months of incarceration, followed by 24 months of supervised release, and to pay an $85,000 fine. Bruce pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle an endangered Ladakh urial trophy into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371).

Prosecutors charged Bruce and co-defendant Pir Danish Ali, a Pakistani national, with conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act for making false statements and smuggling goods into the United States.

Ali, the CEO of a hunting outfitting and guiding company in Pakistan, and Bruce, a recreational big game hunter, began their illegal scheme in February 2016. They conspired to hunt a Ladakh urial, an endangered wild sheep, in Pakistan, and smuggle the trophy into the United States. Bruce was aware that exporting the species from Pakistan was illegal. Prior to the hunt, the two agreed that, if successful, Bruce would falsely identify the Ladakh urial as a different species when bringing it into the United States by presenting forged documents to U.S. officials.

In December 2016, Bruce paid Ali $50,000 for the hunt. In April 2017, Bruce successfully shot the Ladakh urial. Between 2017 and 2018, Bruce made several trips between the U.S. and Pakistan to facilitate the illegal smuggling of the trophy.

On March 29, 2018, Bruce arrived at San Francisco International Airport from Pakistan with eight hunting trophies in his baggage, including the Ladakh urial. He was stopped by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents, who alerted U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials. Bruce presented forged export documents purporting to be issued by Pakistani authorities.

Further investigation revealed that between 2013 and 2018, at least 25 people who had hunted with Ali's company presented forged documents to import at least 97 hunting trophies into the United States.

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

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