The U.S. District Court in southern Florida sentenced three men to two years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release for a multimillion-dollar, organized meat theft ring that victimized beef and pork plants in the Midwest and Great Plains in 2022. It also ordered the men to pay more than $206,000 in restitution.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security spearheaded the investigation and eventually arrested Yoslany Leyva Del Sol, 39; Ledier Machin Andino, 38; and Delvis L. Fuentes, 40, for transportation of stolen goods and money laundering. The men were accused of orchestrating more than 40 thefts between June 2021 and October 2022 in Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wisconsin — at an estimated loss of $9 million to the processing companies.
The men pleaded guilty to possession of stolen goods.