Four people have been prosecuted for allegedly stealing over $1 million worth of dinosaur bones from southeastern Utah and shipping them to China.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, 150,000 pounds of paleontological resources, including dinosaur bones, were illegally removed from federal and state lands in Utah between March 2018 and March 2023.
A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a 13-count indictment charging them for allegedly purchasing, transporting and exporting dinosaur bones from federal land. "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," a press release stated. "Using their company, JMW Sales, the Willings’ exported the dinosaur bones to China by mislabeling the dinosaur bones and deflating their value to avoid detection by federal agents.
"According to the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, paleontological resources mean 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," officials stated.
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