Three Florida Men Sentenced in $9-Million Frozen Meat Crime Ring

Arrested for approximately 45 thefts totaling over $9 million in loss, three Florida men have been sentenced for stealing semi-loads of frozen beef and pork from packing plants across six Midwest states.
Arrested for approximately 45 thefts totaling over $9 million in loss, three Florida men have been sentenced for stealing semi-loads of frozen beef and pork from packing plants across six Midwest states.
(Canva.com)

Arrested for approximately 45 thefts totaling over $9 million in loss, three Florida men have been sentenced for stealing semi-loads of frozen beef and pork from packing plants across six Midwest states.

Starting in June 2021, the criminal enterprise, based in Miami, Fla., targeted meat packing plants in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.

Two of nearly 45 theft events include $100,000 in pork products stolen from the JBS plant in Ottumwa, Iowa, and three semi-trailers loaded with beef stolen from the JBS USA plant in Grand Island, Neb. 

Investigators at the Lancaster County Nebraska Sheriff’s Office, along with Homeland Security Investigation (HIS) Omaha, utilized cell phone records and GPS tracking devices to identify and arrest three suspects involved in the criminal enterprise on Oct. 20, 2022.

Frozen Meat Crime Ring 102822


Yoslany Leyva Del Sol, 39; Ledier Machin Andino, 38; and Delvis L. Fuentes, 40, were charged with transportation of stolen goods and money laundering in Florida’s federal court.

After pleading guilty to possession of stolen goods, in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Florida, the three men were sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The men were also ordered to pay, in total, more than $206,000 in restitution.

 

Latest News

Markets: Cash Cattle Rebound, Futures Notch Four-Week High
Markets: Cash Cattle Rebound, Futures Notch Four-Week High

After a mostly sluggish April, market-ready fed cattle saw a solid rally in the North and steady money in the South. Futures markets began to look past the psychologically bearish H5N1 virus news.

APHIS To Require Electronic Animal ID for Certain Cattle and Bison
APHIS To Require Electronic Animal ID for Certain Cattle and Bison

APHIS issued its final rule on animal ID that has been in place since 2013, switching from solely visual tags to tags that are both electronically and visually readable for certain classes of cattle moving interstate.

How Do Wind, Solar, Renewable Energy Effect Land Values?
How Do Wind, Solar, Renewable Energy Effect Land Values?

“If we step back and look at what that means for farmland, we're taking our energy production system from highly centralized production facilities and we have to distribute it,” says David Muth.

Ranchers Concerned Over Six Confirmed Wolf Kills in Colorado
Ranchers Concerned Over Six Confirmed Wolf Kills in Colorado

Six wolf depredations of cattle have been confirmed in Colorado from reintroduced wolves.

Profit Tracker: Packer Losses Mount; Pork Margins Solid
Profit Tracker: Packer Losses Mount; Pork Margins Solid

Cattle and hog feeders find dramatically lower feed costs compared to last year with higher live anumal sales prices. Beef packers continue to struggle with negative margins.

Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation
Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation

What’s your context? One of the 6 soil health principles we discuss in this week’s episode is knowing your context. What’s yours? What is your goal? What’s the reason you run cattle?