Georgia HVAC Executive Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Banned Refrigerants After Warning Employees: ‘Do Not Call the EPA’

A Georgia heating and cooling company executive admitted in federal court that he orchestrated the illegal importation of 500 cylinders of potent greenhouse gases from Peru, deliberately ignoring repeated warnings from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the shipment was unlawful.

William Randolph Hires, the former chief executive officer of Extreme Residential, pleaded guilty on February 9, 2026, to a one-count information charging him with violating the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act and the Clean Air Act. The plea was entered in the District of New Jersey before a federal judge. Sentencing is scheduled for June 17, 2026.

According to court documents, Hires’s company imported the bulk shipment of hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, in April 2022 without securing the required consumption allowances mandated by the AIM Act. HFCs are synthetic refrigerants widely used in air conditioning systems that are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. The AIM Act directs the EPA to phase down their production and import.

Prosecutors detailed a paper trail showing that Hires was repeatedly cautioned by his own employees and directly by EPA officials that the transaction was forbidden. In July 2022, an EPA official explicitly informed a company employee via email that “it is not possible to import bulk HFCs without consumption allowances.” That warning was forwarded to Hires, along with another EPA message stating, “The HFC you listed (R-410A) is a regulated substance. So, if you do not have allowances, you cannot import those bulk HFC refrigerants.”

Despite the clear guidance, Hires pressed forward with the shipment, according to the charging documents. In an email to his staff, Hires acknowledged the regulatory risk but prioritized the delivery: “Yeah you have to be careful what agencies you’re reaching out to because the EPA . . . can create a hassle and they can hold our stuff up in customs there[.]”

He later instructed his employees to “get [the HFCs] on the ship and get it out to sea . . . don’t care what it takes.” In a final directive, Hires explicitly ordered his staff: “Do not call the EPA please do not.”

Extreme Residential, the Georgia-based company Hires led, has been administratively dissolved and will not face prosecution, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Western Pennsylvania Man Charged in International Conspiracy to Produce and Distribute Torture Videos of Baby Monkeys

A Western Pennsylvania man has been charged with participating in a global online network that allegedly commissioned and distributed custom-made videos depicting the sexual torture and killing of baby monkeys, federal prosecutors announced.

Joseph Garrett Buckland was charged by information on February 26, 2026, in the Western District of Pennsylvania with conspiracy to create and distribute animal crush videos. The charges fall under Title 18, Section 48 of the U.S. Code, which prohibits the creation, sale, or distribution of depictions of animal cruelty.

According to the charging document, Buckland was an active participant in private Telegram groups dedicated to the production and dissemination of videos showing the extreme abuse of infant macaques and other small monkeys. Investigators allege that Buckland and his co-conspirators utilized cryptocurrency payment platforms to compensate individuals in Southeast Asia who produced the explicit videos on demand.

Prosecutors further allege that Buckland maintained an extensive digital archive of these videos and exerted control over how the content was distributed among group members. The investigation revealed a network designed to shield the identities of participants while facilitating the international trade in illegal animal crush content.

Rhode Island Cockfighting Ring Busted: Three Men Plead Guilty in Multi-State Derby Operation

Federal prosecutors have secured guilty pleas from three Rhode Island men linked to a clandestine cockfighting operation that staged violent derbies inside a Providence home, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

Jose Rivera pleaded guilty on February 11, 2026, in the District of Rhode Island to purchasing and transporting a gaff—a razor-sharp blade designed to be attached to a rooster’s leg for combat. Rivera is one of six defendants charged with violating the Animal Welfare Act in connection with the organized animal fighting venture.

Two co-defendants have also admitted to federal charges. Luis Castillo pleaded guilty to sponsoring and exhibiting roosters at an animal fighting venture and is scheduled for sentencing on April 21, 2026. Onill Vasquez Lozada pleaded guilty to possessing, sponsoring, and exhibiting birds in violation of the Animal Welfare Act and related statutes.

According to court documents, the investigation centered on a series of cockfighting derbies hosted by defendant Miguel Delgado at his Providence residence. On March 6, 2022, Delgado allegedly held multiple individual fights at the home. Prosecutors charged Delgado with sponsoring and exhibiting roosters on multiple dates, as well as unlawfully buying and transporting gaffs for use in the fights.

The charging documents further allege that Antonio Ledee Rivera and Lozada unlawfully possessed roosters in April 2021 for fighting purposes and later exhibited birds at the March 2022 derby at Delgado’s residence. Antonio Rivera faces additional charges related to an earlier derby at the same location.

Gerdimez Kingsley Jamie, along with Jose Rivera and Castillo, are accused of sponsoring and exhibiting birds at the March 2022 event. Jamie and Jose Rivera also face charges for buying and transporting gaffs intended for use in the illegal contests.

Texas Man Gets Probation for Third Attempt to Smuggle Banned Refrigerants Across Border; Was Twice Turned Back Before

A Texas man who was twice caught trying to sneak illegal refrigerants into the United States and sent back to Mexico has been sentenced to probation after a third attempt finally resulted in federal charges.

Paul Edward Bautista was sentenced on February 10, 2026, in the Southern District of Texas to a three-year term of probation and 25 hours of community service. Bautista pleaded guilty to smuggling goods into the United States in violation of Title 18, Section 545 of the U.S. Code.

According to court documents, Bautista attempted to cross the U.S.-Mexico border at Brownsville, Texas, on October 2, 2024, with his SUV loaded with multiple containers of refrigerant gas. During an inspection, Customs and Border Protection agents discovered 17 cannisters and cylinders holding various hydrofluorocarbons, including HFC-410A, HFC-32, HFC-134A, and HFC-125—all regulated substances under federal environmental law.

Prosecutors said that upon questioning, Bautista admitted he knew it was unlawful to bring refrigerants into the country without the required licenses or permits.

Court records reveal that Bautista was no stranger to border enforcement regarding refrigerant smuggling. He was first stopped on January 2, 2023, for attempting to bring an “excess amount of freon” across the border and was returned to Mexico without prosecution. He tried again on May 12, 2024, at which time he was fined $5,000 and again returned to Mexico before his third and final attempt in October 2024.

Texas Drug Trafficker Sentenced for Keeping Jaguar Cub He Planned to Sacrifice; Cub Now Safe at Zoo

A South Texas man already serving a federal prison sentence for drug trafficking received an additional 12 months of time served after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a five-week-old jaguar cub that authorities say he originally intended to sacrifice.

Hector Reyes was sentenced on February 10, 2026, in the Southern District of Texas for violating the Endangered Species Act. The 12-month sentence will run concurrently with a 30-month term Reyes is already serving on separate drug-related charges, according to court records.

Prosecutors said Reyes obtained the jaguar cub in April 2021. According to the government’s case, Reyes initially planned to sacrifice the rare animal but later changed his mind and decided to keep the cub as a pet. Reyes did not possess any of the required federal permits to own or possess a jaguar, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act as endangered throughout its range.

Federal wildlife officers seized the cub and transported it to the Gladys Porter Zoo in Brownsville, Texas, where it has remained in professional care since being removed from Reyes’s possession.