PacifiCorp to Pay $575 Million to Settle Federal Claims Over Six Wildfires in California and Oregon
The utility company PacifiCorp has agreed to pay $575 million to resolve claims brought by the United States for damages caused by six wildfires in California and Oregon, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
The settlement covers firefighting costs and natural resource damages stemming from two fires in California and four in Oregon that burned roughly 290,000 acres of federal land between 2020 and 2022. The government alleged that PacifiCorp’s electrical lines negligently started each of the fires.
In California, the settlement addresses the Slater Fire, which began in September 2020 and burned more than 157,000 acres across the Klamath, Six Rivers, and Rogue River–Siskiyou national forests, and the McKinney Fire, which ignited in July 2022 and burned 39,000 acres of federal land within the Klamath National Forest.
The four Oregon fires included in the agreement are the 242 Fire, the Archie Creek Fire, the Echo Mountain Complex Fire, and the South Obenchain Fire. All began in September 2020 and collectively burned more than 93,000 acres of federal land, according to the Justice Department.
“The United States and PacifiCorp have reached a settlement that ensures fair compensation to the American taxpayer for fire-related damages,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This agreement strikes a balance by addressing the government’s significant fire‑suppression costs and loss of natural resources without preventing PacifiCorp from offering electricity at fair prices.”
The settlement money will reimburse the federal government for firefighting expenses, which the U.S. Forest Service has said now account for more than half its annual budget. Remaining funds will be distributed to the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management to restore public lands burned in the fires.
“This settlement served the Department’s longstanding policy of holding individuals and corporations responsible for damages caused by wildfires,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California. “Every fire impacting federal lands, no matter the size, is a priority.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Scott E. Bradford noted the broader impact of wildfires in the region. “Wildfires remain a recurring threat to our natural resources, the safety of our communities, and their economic well‑being,” Bradford said. “The costs of land losses and fire responses are substantial. Recouping the costs associated with these wildfires is a priority for our office, and this settlement achieves that.”
PacifiCorp, which continues to deny liability for the fires, said the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Two Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Charges in Online Sale of Illegal Pesticides and Veterinary Drugs
A Texas couple has pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges for their roles in operating an online business that sold unregulated pesticides and veterinary drugs to customers across the United States, the Justice Department announced.
Thao Duong and Lam Mai entered guilty pleas on Jan. 20 in the Northern District of Texas, according to court records. Sentencing is scheduled for June 9.
Duong, who established the website Cobyfarm.com, pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges for her role in smuggling products into the United States. Federal prosecutors said some of the products she sold were manufactured in Mexico and were illegally imported.
Her husband, Lam Mai, served as the shipping manager for the business. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which regulates veterinary drugs, and the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which governs the use and distribution of pesticides.
Arizona Man Pleads Guilty to Installing Emissions Defeat Devices to Fraudulently Pass State Vehicle Tests
A man who operated a mobile business installing devices designed to cheat Arizona’s vehicle emissions testing requirements has pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act, federal prosecutors announced.
Francisco Antonio Saenz Olivas entered his guilty plea on Jan. 13 in the District of Arizona, according to court records. He is scheduled to be sentenced on June 22.
Olivas ran a business that exclusively installed aftermarket defeat devices—onboard computer simulators—to help customers obtain fraudulent passing emissions test results required by the state to register vehicles. According to the Justice Department, Olivas or his employees would meet customers in local business parking lots, temporarily install the hidden devices, and then drive the vehicles through state-sanctioned emissions testing sites.
After passing the tests, they would return to the parking lot, remove the devices, and provide customers with the fraudulently obtained paperwork to register their vehicles with the State of Arizona. Prosecutors said the business performed no legitimate auto repair work.
Olivas pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act under 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(A).
California Man Sentenced for Smuggling Endangered Wild Sheep Trophy From Pakistan
A California recreational hunter has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for conspiring to smuggle the trophy of an endangered Ladakh urial into the United States, federal prosecutors announced.
Jason K. Bruce, of California, was sentenced on Jan. 27 in the Eastern District of California. In addition to the term of incarceration, U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley ordered Bruce to serve 24 months of supervised release and pay an $85,000 fine. Bruce pleaded guilty in 2025 to conspiracy to violate the Endangered Species Act and smuggling.
According to court documents, Bruce and his co-defendant, Pir Danish Ali, a Pakistani national who served as CEO of a hunting outfitting company in Pakistan, conspired beginning in February 2016 to hunt a Ladakh urial—an endangered wild sheep species—and smuggle the trophy into the United States. Bruce was aware that exporting the species from Pakistan was illegal.
Prior to the hunt, the two agreed that if Bruce was successful, he would falsely identify the Ladakh urial as a different species when importing it by presenting forged documents to U.S. officials. In December 2016, Bruce paid Ali $50,000 for the hunt. He shot the Ladakh urial in April 2017.
Between 2017 and 2018, Bruce made several trips between the United States and Pakistan to facilitate the illegal smuggling. On March 29, 2018, Bruce arrived at San Francisco International Airport from Pakistan with eight hunting trophies in his baggage, including the Ladakh urial. U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents stopped him and alerted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Bruce presented forged export documents that purported to be issued by Pakistani authorities, prosecutors said.
Further investigation revealed that between 2013 and 2018, at least 25 individuals who had hunted with Ali’s company presented forged documents to import at least 97 hunting trophies into the United States.
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