Kentucky Couple Charged with Lacey Act Crimes Based on the Illegal Harvest of Paddlefish from the Ohio River
WASHINGTON – A Kentucky couple and their caviar companies were charged today with trafficking in and falsely labeling illegally harvested paddlefish, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio announced today.
Steve T. Kinder, 51, and Kinder Caviar Inc. were charged with illegally harvesting paddlefish from Ohio waters and falsely reporting to the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources that he caught the fish in Kentucky. Cornelia Joyce Kinder, 53, as well as Kinder Caviar Inc. and Black Star Caviar Company were charged with providing false information about the paddlefish eggs to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in order to obtain permits to export the paddlefish eggs to foreign customers.
The alleged violations occurred between March 2006 and December 2010. Steve Kinder and his wife Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., owned and operated Kinder Caviar and Black Star Caviar. Those companies were in the business of exporting paddlefish eggs as caviar to customers in foreign countries.
If convicted, the Kinders face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both on each count. The companies could be fined up to $500,000 per count.
Steve Kinder and Cornelia Joyce Kinder, both of Owenton, Ky., are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The case is being investigated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife; and the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources.
It is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio and the Environmental Crimes Section of the Environmental and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Key Facts
- State: Kentucky
- Category: Wildlife Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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