Fourteen fined in scheme to steal venison from hunters in Ohio
Fourteen people have been ordered to pay fines and restitution of more than $70 thousand in connection with deer poaching scheme in Ohio that involved stealing meat from hunters.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources says convictions stem from an investigation into A&E Deer Processing of Gallia County that revealed that the owners and operators falsely game checked deer, created false deer harvest records, falsified deer tags, exceeded deer hunting limits, and stole venison from customers who brought in deer for processing.
Falsified records allowed the deer processors to take and have in their possession more deer than they were lawfully allowed.
The stolen venison was stockpiled and laundered into summer sausage that was sold for profit.
Over the course of two hunting seasons, investigators say they documented more than 2,000 pounds of venison that were either stolen from their 280 customers or illegally taken by means such as jacklighting, taking deer out of season, and falsifying records.
Investigators seized more than 1,000 items including venison and venison processing equipment, deer harvest records, deer mounts and antlers, and hunting implements.
A stolen rifle, illegally possessed firearm suppressors, and a moonshine still were also discovered during the searches.
Fourteen people on four counties in Ohio and Pennsylvania were charged with 122 counts including charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activities, grand theft, falsification, tampering with records, possession of untagged deer parts, hunting with an illegal implement, and complicity to wildlife sales.
The group also collectively received a hunting license revocation totaling 63 years and paid more than $6,700 in court costs.
The maximum restitution to one person was $20,000. A second individual received restitution of $13,000.
The investigation culminated in February 2020 with the execution of five search warrants in Gallia County, Ohio. Wildlife officers and investigators conducted 22 interviews in Ohio and three in Pennsylvania to verify the violations.
