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Environmental Crimes Bulletin – February 2026

Monday, March 23, 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) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Middle District of Florida | United States v. Denver Miller | Eagle Nest Destruction; Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act |
| Eastern District of Louisiana | United States v. Bryan Brown | Wastewater Discharges; Clean Water Act; Depredation of Government Property |
| Southern District of Mississippi | United States v. Jeffrey Budziszewski | Reptile Trafficking; Lacey Act |
| District of New Hampshire | United States v. Jennifer Scott | Game Bird Fighting; Attending an Animal Fighting Venture |
| District of New Jersey | United States v. Willam Randolph Hires | Refrigerant Imports; American Innovation and Manufacturing Act; Clean Air Act |
| Western District of Pennsylvania | United States v. Joseph Garrett Buckland | Animal Crush Videos; Conspiracy |
| District of Rhode Island | United States v. Jose Rivera, et al. | Bird Fighting; Animal Fighting Venture; Animal Welfare Act |
| Southern District of Texas | United States v. Paul Edward Bautista | Refrigerant Smuggling |
| United States v. Hector Reyes | Jaguar Cub Purchase; Endangered Species Act | |
| United States v. Sebastian Cruz-Amaya | Reptile Smuggling | |
| Western District of Texas | United States v. Mark Anthony Cadena | Public Utility Hacking; Computer Fraud and Abuse Act; Safe Drinking Water Act |
| Eastern District of Virginia | United States v. Virginia Pump and Motor Company, et al. | Waste Grease Discharges; Clean Water Act |
| Southern District of West Virginia | United States v. Dennis West | Chemical Spill; Clean Water Act |

Recently Charged

United States v. Mark Anthony Cadena

• No. 5:26-CR-00040 (Western District of Texas
• AUSA Christopher K. Mangels On February 4, 2026, prosecutors charged Mark Anthony Cadena, a former contractor with the Picosa Water Supply Corporation (PWSC), with charges related to a cyber intrusion into the PWSC’s control systems. Cadena is charged with violating the Safe Drinking Water Act for tampering with, and attempting to tamper with, a public water system, and violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 300i-1(a), 300i-1(b); 18 U.S.C. §§ 1030(a)(5)(A) & (c)(4)(B)(i)).

On February 2, 2025, Cadena hacked into the water utility’s well and pump control systems, intentionally causing at least $5,000 in damage to a protected computer, threatening public health and safety.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Western District of Texas | Bexar County Man Indicted for Tampering with Public Water Systems | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Bryant Brown

• No. 2:26-CR-00050 (Eastern District of Louisiana)
• AUSA Duane Evans On February 12, 2026, prosecutors charged Bryant Brown with depredation of government property and violating the Clean Water Act (18 U.S.C. § 1361; 33 U.S.C. § 1319(c)(2)(A)). Trial is scheduled for May 4, 2026.

Between March and June 2025, Brown discharged pollutants into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, causing more than $1,000 worth of property damage. Bayou Sauvage is the largest urban wildlife refuge in the United States, comprised of wetlands that span nearly 30,000 acres.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. EPA Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

Related Press Release: Eastern District of Louisiana | Slidell Man Indicted for Injury to Government Property and Federal Clean Water Act Violations | United States Department of Justice

United States v. Joseph Garrett Buckland

• No. 2:26-CR-00040 (Western District of Pennsylvania)
• ECS Trial Attorney Emily Stone
• AUSA Nicole Vasquez Schmitt On February 26, 2026, Joseph Garrett Buckland was charged by information with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(2), 48(a)(3)).

Buckland participated in Telegram groups dedicated to creating and distributing custom-made sexual torture videos of baby monkeys. Buckland and his co-conspirators used cryptocurrency platforms to pay creators in Southeast Asia for filming the crush videos. Buckland maintained an archive of videos and exercised control over its distribution.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Guilty Pleas

United States v. Willam Randolph Hires

• No. 3:25-CR-00784 (District of New Jersey)
• ECS Senior Trial Attorney RJ Powers
• AUSA Jessica Ecker On February 9, 2026, William Randolph Hires pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with illegally importing hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in violation of the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) and the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 7675, 7413). Sentencing is scheduled for June 17, 2026.

Hires was the chief executive officer of Extreme Residential, a Georgia-based heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company. In April 2022, Extreme Residential illegally imported 500 cylinders of HFCs into the United States from Peru. Over the next several months, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials explained to Hires’s employees that, under the AIM Act and its implementing regulations, Hires’s company could not lawfully import the HFCs into the United States because it failed to obtain the required allowances from EPA. In a July 2022 email to one of Hires’ s employees, an EPA official stated, “it is not possible to import bulk HFCs without consumption allowances.”

Company employees relayed this information from the EPA to Hires several times. On one occasion, an employee forwarded Hires an email from an EPA official that stated, “[t]he HFC you listed (R-410A) is a regulated substance. So, if you do not have allowances, you cannot import those bulk HFC refrigerants.” Hires nevertheless instructed his employees to illegally import the HFCs into the United States. Hires stated to his employees: “ [y]eah you have to be careful what agencies you’ re reaching out to because the EPA . . . can create a hassle and they can hold our stuff up in customs there[.]” In a subsequent email, Hires instructed his employees to “get [the HFCs] on the ship and get it out to sea . . . don’ t care what it takes[.]” Hires later told his employees via email: “Do not call the EPA please do not.”

Extreme Residential was administratively dissolved and will not be prosecuted.

The U.S. EPA Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.

United States v. Jose Rivera, 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 February 11, 2026, Jose Rivera pleaded guilty to buying or transporting a gaff (a razor intended to be attached to the leg of a rooster), for use in an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(d)). Rivera is one of six defendants charged with violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) in connection with a cockfighting operation.

Co-defendant Luis Castillo pleaded guilty to violating the AWA by sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1)). Castillo is scheduled for sentencing on April 21, 2026. Onill Vasquez Lozada pleaded guilty to possessing, sponsoring, and exhibiting birds in an animal fighting venture in violation of the AWA (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)(1), (b), (d); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)). As explained below, Miguel Delgado, Antonio Ledee Rivera and Gerdimez Kingsley Jamie are also charged as co-defendants.

On March 6, 2022, Delgado hosted a series of individual cockfights, known as “derbies,” at his Providence home. Delgado is charged with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters in an animal fighting venture on multiple dates, buying and transporting gaffs for use in the cockfights, and unlawfully possessing roosters for use in an animal fighting venture. Antonio Ledee Rivera and Lozada unlawfully possessed roosters in April 2021 for use in an animal fighting venture and exhibited roosters at the March 2022 derby at Delgado’s home. Antonio Rivera is also charged in connection with an earlier derby at Delgado’s home. Jamie, Jose Rivera, and Castillo sponsored and exhibited birds at the March 2022 derby. Jamie and Jose Rivera also bought and transported 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.

Sentencings

United States v. Denver Miller, et al.

• No. 8:25-CR-00571 (Middle District of Florida)
• AUSA Abigail King On January 21, 2026, a court sentenced Denver Miller to pay a $50 fine for attempting to cause an eagle’s nest to fall to the ground in October 2024. Miller pleaded guilty to violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act for attempting to take a bald eagle nest (16 U.S.C. § 668).

During a storm in October 2024, Miller tried to partially cut down a tree containing an eagle nest hoping the storm would finish the job, but it did not. Miller paid voluntary restitution in the amount $10,000 to The Audubon Society Eagle Watch Program.

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

United States v. Jeffrey Budziszewski

• No. 5:25-CR-00002 (Southern District of Mississippi)
• AUSA Herbert Carraway On February 9, 2026, a court sentenced Jeffrey Budziszewski to pay a $3,000 fine and complete a one-year term of probation. Budziszewski pleaded guilty to a Lacey Act trafficking misdemeanor charge (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373 (d)(2)).

Between June and July of 2020, Budziszewski collected and sold three-toed box turtles in violation of Mississippi law and shipped them to New York for export to China. In total he sent approximately 70 shipments of 500-600 box turtles with a domestic price of $72,000.

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

United States v. Jennifer Scott

• No. 1:25-CR-00080 (District of New Hampshire)
• AUSA Matthew Vicinanzo On February 9, 2026, a court sentenced Jennifer Scott to pay a $2,500 fine and complete a one-year term of probation for her involvement in illegal cockfighting activities in New Hampshire and North Carolina. Scott pleaded guilty to one count of attending an animal fighting venture (7 U.S.C. § 2156(2)(A); 18 U.S.C. § 49(b)).

Scott used her property in New Hampshire to raise and train roosters for cockfighting. On several occasions, she transported roosters to North Carolina, where she knew they would be used in illegal cockfighting events. While executing a search warrant on her property, law enforcement officials recovered sparring muffs used to train roosters for cockfighting, a sparring aid used to entice roosters to attack, 76 roosters, 84 hens, 260 juvenile chickens, and an egg incubator.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. The following agencies provided assistance: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department Law Enforcement Division, New Hampshire State Police, Massachusetts State Police, North Carolina State Highway Patrol, Animal Rescue League of Boston Law Enforcement Division, and the Chester Police Department.

United States v. Paul Edward Bautista

• No. 5:25-CR-01232 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Graciela Rodriquez Lindberg On February 10, 2026, a court sentenced Paul Edward Bautista to serve a three-year term of probation and perform 25 hours of community service. Bautista pleaded guilty to smuggling refrigerants into the United States (18 U.S.C. § 545).

On October 2, 2024, Bautista attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas, with multiple containers and varieties of refrigerant gas inside his SUV. Agents found 17 cannisters and/or cylinders holding HFC-410A, HFC-32, HFC-134A, and HFC-125.

Upon questioning, Bautista admitted that he knew it was unlawful to bring refrigerants into the United States without a license or other required permission.

Bautista was previously stopped on January 2, 2023, attempting to smuggle an “excess amount of freon in his vehicle” and was returned to Mexico. He tried again May 12, 2024, and was fined $5,000 and returned to Mexico.

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Harlingen, Texas, Police Department.

United States v. Virginia Pump and Motor Company, et al.

• No. 2:25-CR-00129 (Eastern District of Virginia)
• AUSA Joseph Kosky On February 18, 2026, a court sentenced Virginia Pump and Motor Company (VPM), a grease and septic hauling company, and its owner, Carroll Moon, to each pay $150,000 fines and $126,000 in restitution (joint and several) to the Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD). Both defendants will complete three-year terms of probation, with Moon spending the first six months in home confinement. VPM and Moon pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319(c)(2)(A), 1342(b)(8)).

Between 2022 and 2024, on 30 different days, VPM serviced grease traps from customers using company trucks. Under pretreatment regulations and the company's industrial permit, VPM was required to take the waste grease to locations designated by the HRSD Publicly Owned Treatment Works for proper disposal. VPM and Moon, however, directed company trucks to discharge at other non-designated locations. By doing so, the defendants avoided paying approximately $126,000 in fees for proper disposal.

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

United States v. Dennis West

• No. 2:25-CR-00175 (Southern District of West Virginia)
• AUSA Erik Goes On February 26, 2026, a court sentenced Dennis West to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a three-year term of probation. West’s company, Gadsden, Gaillard, and West LLC (GGW), is now defunct. A restitution order will be forthcoming within 60 days. West and GGW pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 1319 (c)(1)(A)).

On August 24, 2022, while driving under the influence of alcohol, West crashed the company’s tractor trailer on a highway. West was transporting twelve 275-gallon totes of an industrial cleaning product containing alkyl dimethylamine. As a result, the chemical, which is classified as a corrosive material and marine pollutant, spilled onto the road and then into Paint Creek, a tributary of the Kanawha River.

Authorities estimate that 1,300 gallons of alkyl dimethylamine spilled into the water, killing close to 33,500 fish and requiring several months of environmental remediation.

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

United States v. Hector Reyes

• No. 7:22-CR-01488 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Patricia Profit On February 10, 2026, a court sentenced Hector Reyes to 12 months’ time served. Reyes is already serving a 30-month sentence on drug-related charges.

Reyes pleaded guilty to violating the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(B), (g); 1540(b)(1)). In April 2021, Reyes obtained a 5-week-old jaguar cub. He originally intended to sacrifice the cub, but later decided to keep it as a pet. Reyes did not have the proper permits to possess the animal. Authorities transported the jaguar to the Gladys Porter Zoo for care.

This case is the result of Operation Ice River, which targeted drug smugglers in Starr County, Texas. The following were among federal and state agencies involved: the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

United States v. Sebastian Cruz-Amaya

• No.7:25-CR-02953 (Southern District of Texas)
• AUSA Roberto Lopez, Jr. On February 24, 2026, a court sentenced Sebastian Cruz-Amaya to 24 months’ incarceration, with no supervised release. The defendant pleaded guilty to smuggling reptiles from the United States to Mexico (18 U.S.C. § 554(a)).

In October 2025, Cruz-Amaya attempted to enter Mexico from Texas with a number of exotic animals concealed within his vehicle. Upon questioning, Cruz-Amaya told officials that he was exporting the animals on behalf of another individual in Mexico and expected to be paid approximately $500-$600. Cruz-Amaya also said he had transported animals over the last five years for the same individual, estimating he had made more than 100 trips. Over this period of time, Cruz-Amaya charged approximately $120,000, netting $40,000 for himself.

Investigators found numerous communications between Cruz-Amaya and others on his cell phone discussing the receipt and export of wildlife as well as various invoices for animals.

In his vehicle, authorities found an invoice dated October 21, 2025, from a company in Ohio that had shipped approximately 54 snakes to a UPS store in McAllen, Texas, for delivery on October 22, 2025. The animals recovered from Cruz-Amaya's vehicle included more than 100 snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, centipedes, and a turtle. Wildlife agents identified several species listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, as well as at least one species, the Indian Star Tortoise, that is listed on Appendix I.

Agents served subpoenas on various vendors and discovered members of the conspiracy were involved in the unlawful exportation of at least $580,000 worth of wildlife, as well as an additional 1,088 snakes with undetermined value, from Hidalgo County, Texas, to Mexico since 2020.

Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.

Reptiles found in defendant’s vehicle View All Environmental Crimes Bulletins

Updated March 23, 2026 Components Environment and Natural Resources Division ENRD - Environmental Crimes Section

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