SALT LAKE CITY — A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a 13-count indictment charging four people for allegedly purchasing and selling over $1M in paleontological resources.
According to a press release issued by the United States Department of Justice, the dollar amount represents 150,000 pounds of paleontological resources — including dinosaur bones — illegally removed from federal and state lands in southeastern Utah.
According to court documents, Vint Wade, 65, and Donna Wade, 67, of Moab; Steven Willing, 67, of Los Angeles, California, and Jordan Willing, 40 of Ashland, Oregon, committed several felony offenses against the United States by violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act.
Prosecutors allege between March 2018 and March 2023, the defendants allegedly purchased, transported and exported dinosaur bones from federal land. The defendants further illegally conspired by knowingly concealing and retaining stolen property from government property.
In a typical execution of the conspiracy, court records state that the Wades purchased paleontological resources removed from federal land by paying cash and checks to known and unknown individuals not indicted.
“Those individuals removed the dinosaur bones for the Wades’ personal use,” the press release states. “The Wades stockpiled paleontological resources to sell at gem and mineral shows to national vendors and to sell some of the illegally obtained paleontological resources to Steven and Jordan Willing.”
Using their company, JMW Sales, the Willings allegedly exported the stolen dinosaur bones to China by mislabeling the bones and deflating their value to avoid detection by federal agents.
In addition to selling over $1,000,000 in paleontological resources, the defendants caused over $3,000,000 in damages that includes the commercial value of the resource, the scientific value of the resource and the cost of restoration and repair, prosecutors said.
According to the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, paleontological resources are defined as “any fossilized remains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in or on the earth’s crust, that have paleontological interest and provide information about the history of life on earth.”
“By removing and processing these dinosaur bones to make consumer products for profit, tens of thousands of pounds of dinosaur bones have lost virtually all scientific value, leaving future generations unable to experience the science and wonder of these bones on Federal land,” U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins said in the news release.
“The United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners are dedicated to protecting paleontological resources throughout the State of Utah,” Higgins added. “We will hold accountable anyone who seeks to engage in similar criminal conduct.”
All defendants are charged with conspiracy against the United States; Paleontological Resources Preservation Act violation; theft of property of the United States government and other charges as alleged in the indictment. The defendants appeared for their initial court appearance on Oct. 19 at 3 p.m. before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
“Southeastern Utah is a well-known destination for visitors to experience paleontology on the landscape. The public deserves the opportunity to benefit from and appreciate prehistoric resources on the lands,” BLM Utah State Director Gregory Sheehan said in the press release. “We are grateful to our team, including technical experts and law enforcement rangers, and the many partner-agencies who have committed time and energy to bring closure in this case.”
The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Monticello Field Office, the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office with assistance from Grand County Sheriff and San Juan County Sheriff offices are investigating the case.
This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.
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