Former Ohio Wildlife Officer Convicted of Trafficking in White-Tailed Deer

WASHINGTON – Allan Wright, 45, of Russellville, Ohio, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Cincinnati to violating the Lacey Act by trafficking in and making false records for illegally harvested white-tailed deer, the Department of Justice announced.   Wright committed the Lacey Act crimes while he was employed as a wildlife officer for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.   Wright’s employment as a wildlife officer was terminated after he was indicted in August 2011.   As part of his plea agreement, Wright has agreed not to appeal his termination.

Among other things, t he Lacey Act makes it a crime for a person to knowingly transport or sell wildlife in interstate commerce when the wildlife was taken or possessed in violation of state law.   The Lacey Act also makes it a crime for a person to knowingly make or submit a false record, account or label for wildlife that has been transported in interstate commerce.   Wright pleaded guilty to a total of four Lacey Act crimes based on his conduct between 2006 and 2010.  

As part his plea, Wright admitted that, using his authority as a wildlife officer, he sold a resident Ohio hunting license to a non-resident hunter in 2006.   That hunter used the illegal Ohio resident hunting license to kill three white-tailed deer.   As part of his plea, Wright admitted that he “checked in” those deer by providing a false Ohio residence address for the non-resident hunter in order to make it appear that the deer were killed by an Ohio resident.   After the deer were checked in, the non-resident hunter transported them in interstate commerce from Ohio to South Carolina.

Also as part of his plea, Wright admitted that, using his authority as a wildlife officer, he seized white-tailed deer antlers from a hunter who had killed a deer illegally in 2009.   Wright admitted that, rather than disposing of the antlers through court proceedings, as required by Ohio law, he knowingly supplied them to another individual who transported them from Ohio to Michigan.   As part of his plea, Wright admitted that he filed an official state form, which falsely reported that he had personally destroyed those antlers.  

Wright faces a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine per count.   A date has not yet been set for Wright’s sentencing.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement.   This case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division.

Kentuckians Convicted of Lacey Act Crimes for Illegally Harvesting and Making False Records for Ohio River Paddlefish

WASHINGTON – Two Kentuckians and their caviar companies pleaded guilty today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio to trafficking in and falsely labeling illegally harvested paddlefish (Polydon spathula). Steve Kinder, along with his wife, Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., owned and operated Kinder Caviar Inc. and Black Star Caviar Company. Those companies were in the business of exporting paddlefish eggs as caviar to customers in foreign countries.

 Paddlefish, whose eggs are marketed as caviar, are protected by both federal and Ohio law. Ohio law prohibits commercial fishing for paddlefish. Ohio law also prohibits the possession or use of gill nets. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), which is codified in United States law through the Endangered Species Act, regulates international trade in certain species listed on one of three Appendices. Paddlefish are listed on Appendix II of CITES. Appendix II species, or their parts, which were harvested in the United States, may be exported only if they are accompanied by a valid export permit issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

 Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it a crime to transport or sell fish, or their parts, knowing that the fish were harvested in violation of any state’s law. Among other things, the Lacey Act also makes it a crime to make or submit a false record, account or label for, or false identification of, fish or fish parts which were, or were intended to be, exported, transported or sold.

 According to the  plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, Cornelia Joyce Kinder admitted to making false statements on behalf of Kinder Caviar in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about March 15, 2007. Specifically, Cornelia Joyce Kinder misrepresented the amount of legally-harvested paddlefish eggs that she could provide documentation for, as well as misidentified the fishermen who harvested the paddlefish and the location of harvest.

 As part of a plea agreement, Cornelia Joyce Kinder also admitted to making false statements on behalf of Black Star Caviar Company in a CITES Export Registration Form for paddlefish eggs on or about Dec. 18, 2010. Specifically, Cornelia Joyce Kinder completed the form using the name of a subordinate employee and forged that employee’s signature on the form in order to give the impression that she was not the applicant.

 According to the plea agreement, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder admitted to aiding and abetting one another in harvesting paddlefish in Ohio waters, using gill nets attached to the Ohio shoreline, on or about May 5, 2007, and transporting the paddlefish to Kentucky with the intent to sell them when, in the exercise of due care, they should have known that the fish were harvested in violation of Ohio law.

 As part of a plea agreement, both Kinder Caviar and Black Star Caviar Company have each agreed to pay a $5,000 fine and serve a three-year term of probation, during which time those companies will be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit. In addition, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder have agreed to serve a three-year term of probation, during which time they will each perform 100 hours of community service, be prohibited from fishing anywhere in the Ohio River where that river forms the border between Ohio and Kentucky, and be prohibited from applying for or receiving a CITES Export Permit, either on behalf of themselves or anyone else. In accordance with Kentucky law, both Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder face possible suspension of their Kentucky commercial fishing licenses.

 Also as part of the plea agreement, the boat and truck that were used in furtherance of the Lacey Act crimes have been forfeited.

 The case was investigated by the USFWS Office of Law Enforcement; the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife; and the Kentucky Department of Fish& Wildlife Resources. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney James B. Nelson of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura I. Clemmens of the Southern District of Ohio.