Southwest Florida Men Face Criminal Charges For Organizing Fraudulent Turkey Hunt

If you can tear yourself away from all the clickbait, you will find that not everyone is doom scrolling their lives away. Your own sons may be glued to their video games and their disturbing short form videos, but there are young men out there somewhere who are accompanying their fathers on hunting expeditions. Even if they can’t yet convince their sons to join them, there are still some old dudes out there pursuing the remaining hunting trophies on their bucket lists. Turkeys do not seem like the most glamorous prey to hunt, but turkey hunting has its share of enthusiasts, if only because, if your kids turn up their noses at most wild game, you can tell them that eating wild turkey is not so different from eating Thanksgiving dinner. In the case of a hunting tour operation, the turkeys they advertised were a little too similar to what you can buy at the supermarket, and now they are facing charges for fraud. If you are being accused of fraud in connection to false advertising, contact a Tampa white collar crime lawyer.

Would You Pay Thousands of Dollars to Hunt a Butterball?

Four men from Southwest Florida are facing criminal charges for allegedly falsely advertising a hunting tour. Larry William Collins and Paul Neil Beckham of Punta Gorda, David Preston Mills of Arcadia, and Vernon Robert Flowers of Naples are facing charges for conspiracy to commit organized fraud and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The men operate a hunting tour company, and its website advertised the Osceola turkey, also known as the Florida wild turkey, as a species of game that customers could hunt.

The United States is home to four subspecies of wild turkey, of which the Osceola turkey is the rarest, since its range is limited to Florida. Hunters who have taken all four subspecies can brag that they have completed a Grand Slam, and this is what the defendants were selling. Clients paid about $2,000 for a hunting trip to hunt Osceola turkeys; at least one client paid by performing free dental work for one or more of the defendants instead of paying currency, but the defendants received over $20,000 in payments.

One client shot a turkey and brought it to a taxidermist. As the taxidermist was preparing the turkey, he noticed that it looked different from other wild turkeys he had seen. Its short legs and the shape of its feet resembled domestic turkeys, as did its high percentage of body fat. The client notified police, which had the turkey’s remains DNA tested. The test results showed that the turkey was not an Osceola turkey, but rather a cross of two breeds of domestic turkey, selectively bred so that the colors of its feathers would resemble the Osceola turkey.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for organized fraud.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Source:

themeateater.com/conservation/wildlife-management/florida-men-arrested-for-scheme-to-sell-fake-osceola-turkey-hunts