4 Americans Charged with Selling $1M of Dinosaur Bones to China

The four defendants are accused of violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA)

Four Americans have been charged with selling $1 million worth of dinosaur bones to China.

According to an indictment shared by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Utah, Jordan Willing, 40, from Ashland, Oregon, Steven Willing, 67, from Los Angeles, and Vint Wade, 65, and Donna Wade, 67, from Moab, Utah, are accused of violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA) by illegally purchasing, transporting and exporting dinosaur bones from federal land in southeastern Utah between March 2018 and March 2023.

The defendants are being charged with multiple felony charges against the United States, including "concealing and retaining stolen property," per the release. In addition to selling $1 million in paleontological resources, the indictment alleges the defendants' actions caused more than $3 million in damages.

“The defendants further illegally conspired by knowingly concealing and retaining stolen property of the United States,” the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Utah’s press release read. “As charged, in a typical execution of the conspiracy, the Wades purchased paleontological resources removed from federal land by paying cash and checks to known and unknown unindicted individuals.”

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The release added that the Wades then allegedly collected paleontological resources to sell to national vendors at gem and mineral shows. Meanwhile, they allegedly sold the illegally obtained paleontological resources to the Willings, who then exported the dinosaur bones to China through their company, JMW Sales, per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

This was allegedly done “by mislabeling the dinosaur bones and deflating their value to avoid detection by federal agents,” the release explained.

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The indictment also outlined that the more than $3 million in damages consisted of restoration and repair costs, the resource’s commercial value and the resource’s scientific value.

"Whatever value we could gain by knowing the location they are at, what other bones were near, the type of soil they were found in — all of that scientific value was lost when they were removed," U.S. District Attorney Trina Higgins said in a statement.

"So although dinosaur bones and all of the paleontological resources have a value on some markets, the true loss of removing these items from public lands cannot be monetarily measured. It is invaluable," Higgins added, per KSL.com.

According to the Attorney Office's statement, the defendants are set to have their first court appearance on Oct. 19. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, the Federal Bureau of Investigation Salt Lake City Field Office is working on the case alongside the Bureau of Land Management Monticello Field Office and the Grand County and San Juan County Sheriff Offices.

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