A Meadview man, William Starr Schwartz, was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, after pleading guilty to theft of government property, smuggling cacti from the United States, and Lacey Act false labeling charges.
According to the Department of Justice, Schwartz stole, and directed others to steal for him, in excess of 500 federally-protected cactus plants from the Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Arizona between approximately Oct. 1, 2014 and Aug. 22, 2018.
Schwartz sold the stolen cacti through the Internet, and illegally shipped the cacti from Meadview to more than 20 countries throughout the world. During a search warrant conducted on Schwartz’s residence in August 2018, numerous stolen cacti were recovered by law enforcement agents. Additionally, methamphetamine and related drug paraphernalia were found.
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation is a charitable and nonprofit corporation established to further the conservation and management of fish, wildlife, plants, and other natural resources.