New York Residents Admit To Stealing Used Cooking Oil From Restaurants in Fraud Conspiracy Spanning 10 States

Federal prosecutors have obtained guilty pleas from two New York men in a racketeering conspiracy that drained restaurant grease tanks across the Midwest and South.

Tianzhu Chen, 33, of Flushing, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and money laundering, and Yong Chen, 33, of Brooklyn, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy, says the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.

A federal grand jury had charged 19 people over the theft of used cooking oil, a commodity that refiners convert into biodiesel fuel.

Prosecutors allege crews pulled the oil from collection tanks at restaurants in Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri and Kentucky.

The stolen product was later gathered at warehouses in Nevada, Iowa, Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, and Illinois before being sold after interstate shipment.

Prosecutors further allege that proceeds from those sales were laundered.

Each offense carries a maximum of 20 years in prison.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 29, 2027, and a district court judge will weigh federal guidelines along with other statutory factors.

Trial for the remaining defendants is set to begin on April 12, 2027.

The Central Iowa Gang Task Force of the FBI Des Moines Resident Agency is investigating, with assistance from multiple local agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency.

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The post New York Residents Admit To Stealing Used Cooking Oil From Restaurants in Fraud Conspiracy Spanning 10 States appeared first on The Daily Hodl.