https://abcnews.go.com/Interna...nt/story?id=55333480


Hunter charged with federal crimes for allegedly leading illegal elephant hunts

By CLAYTON SANDELL May 21, 2018, 4:47 PM ET

A South African man is facing federal charges for his role in allegedly helping a Colorado hunter illegally kill endangered elephants in Zimbabwe and offering similar services to an undercover federal agent, according to an indictment unsealed Monday in Denver.

Professional hunter Hanno van Rensburg, 44, of South Africa is facing charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and violations of the Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act, which prohibit the hunting and trade of threatened animals, including the African elephant, according to the indictment filed by the U.S. Attorney in Colorado. A warrant has been issued for van Rensburg’s arrest.

Federal prosecutors allege that in 2015, van Rensburg was paid $39,195 to help a Colorado hunter shoot an elephant outside of Zimbabwe’s Gonarezhou National Park. Van Rensburg and the Colorado hunter -- who is not named in the indictment -- tracked the wounded animal inside the park, the indictment states.

Van Rensburg and the Colorado hunter, according to the indictment, “agreed to pay and paid a bribe to the game scouts of between $5,000 and $8,000 so that they could shoot elephants other than the one that was first shot and wounded and kill an elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park, in violation of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Act.”

The indictment alleges that to export the elephant’s ivory, Van Rensburg conspired to tell Zimbabwean authorities that his client, the hunter from Colorado, was actually from South Africa.

“To conceal this contrivance, van Rensburg quizzed Colorado hunter on the layout of his house so that Colorado hunter could convincingly answer such questions and successfully represent himself as a South African resident,” according to the indictment.

Federal authorities also allege van Rensburg attempted to sell a similar illegal elephant hunting trip to an undercover agent with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. According to the indictment, in 2017 van Rensburg told the agent to bring around $9,000 dollars on the trip for “extras,” as in bribes.

Hunters are required to buy “tags” if they want to hunt an elephant in Zimbabwe, and van Rensburg allegedly reassured the agent that a limited number of tags was not a problem.

“But you know about Zimbabwe, how it works,” van Rensburg allegedly told the agent, according to the indictment. “If they need another tag, they get another tag. You know, that’s the negative part of it. The system is so corrupt. If they need to get it, they will get it. If the client pays the money they will find another tag. I am straightforward with you. Corruption is the rule in Africa.”

Van Rensburg did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but one of his former clients is coming to his defense.

Charlie Loan, a hunter who is unrelated to the current case, said the indictment comes as a surprise. Loan said he was part of a small group that hired Van Rensburg and his guides for a 10-day South African hunting safari in 2012.

“One of the things that we were all really impressed by was the fact that they put a lot of emphasis on conservation,” Loan told ABC News. “Conservation was key in his mind, and that went through his entire staff.”

https://www.justice.gov/usao-c...legal-elephant-hunts



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 21, 2018

South African Professional Hunter Charged with Federal Crimes for Illegal Elephant Hunts
Defendant Took Colorado-Based Hunter on Illegal Hunt in Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou National Park


DENVER – Hanno Van Rensburg, age 44, of South Africa, was charged with federal crimes related to illegal elephant hunts in an indictment unsealed in United States District Court for the District of Colorado, announced U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement (FWS-OLE) Special Agent in Charge Steve Oberholtzer.

As alleged in the indictment, the defendant sought opportunities to hunt large elephants that frequent the area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe. He hired a Zimbabwe-based outfitter so that he could lead a hunt inside the park. Once on the hunt, the defendant shot several elephants, and an elephant was killed inside the national park. The defendant then paid somewhere between $5,000 and $8,000 in bribes to Zimbabwean government officials in return for authorization to shoot the elephants, to kill an elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park, and to have the elephant’s ivory released. The defendant also helped a client in an effort to export the elephant out of Zimbabwe, by agreeing to falsely represent that the elephant was killed outside the national park and by agreeing to manufacture and submit a document falsely stating that this client was a resident of South Africa.

In addition, the defendant allegedly attempted to sell an illegal elephant hunt to an undercover U.S. Fish and Wildlife Agent. Among other things, the defendant attempted to sell the undercover agent a hunt in the same location outside Gonarezhou National Park and advertised his willingness to pay bribes to obtain tags to hunt inside Gonarezhou National Park. As alleged in the indictment, the defendant told the undercover agent that “if they need another tag, they get another tag. You know, that’s the negative part of it. The system is so corrupt. If they need to get it, they will get it. If the client pays the money they will find another tag. I am straight forward with you. Corruption is the rule in Africa.” In the process of offering the undercover agent a hunting trip, the defendant proposed that the undercover agent bring approximately $9,000 in “extras” that “we can use in camp to make things straight if we need to.” The defendant also advertised his hunting services by describing in detail his previous illegal hunt in Gonarezhou National Park.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners work together to support global efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife from illegal poaching,” said U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer. “FWS and our prosecutors did an extraordinary job investigating this case.”

“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is committed to protecting imperiled species around the globe from poaching and trafficking,” said Steve Oberholzer, the Special Agent in Charge of the Mountain-Prairie Region. “These cooperative law enforcement efforts strengthen and protect America’s borders while ensuring the conservation of cherished wildlife species."

The case was investigated by FWS-OLE.

The defendant is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Bryan D. Fields and Suneeta Hazra.

The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Topic(s):
Wildlife
Component(s):
USAO - Colorado
Press Release Number:
CASE NUMBER: 18-cr-238-PAB

Is this written by a 5 year old??

https://apnews.com/39b025cc40664a9389e411340809f9be



Charges filed against South Africa hunter over ivory import

DENVER (AP) — The owner of a South African hunting company was indicted this month in Colorado by federal prosecutors, who accuse the man of bribing Zimbabwean government officials while guiding a Colorado tourist on a hunt for elephants and working to have the ivory tusks of an elephant the group illegally killed inside a national park imported to the U.S.

Prosecutors said 44-year-old Hanno van Rensburg took a client to the area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants in 2015.


The Colorado client shot one elephant that did not die. The hunting party then tracked the animal into the national park but could not find it, according to prosecutors.

An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Zimbabwean law does not allow hunters tracking a wounded animal inside the park to continue hunting other animals.

Someone in the group shot and killed a different elephant and prosecutors say van Rensburg conspired with the client from Colorado to export ivory from the dead elephant, falsely claiming that the hunter was a resident of South Africa and that the elephant was not shot inside a national park.

In 2015, U.S. law banned importation of the body parts of African elephants killed for sport in Zimbabwe. However, the Trump administration announced in March 2018 that requests to import elephant trophies would be approved on a “case-by-case basis.”

Van Rensburg also is charged with violating a broader U.S. law — the Lacey Act — that make it illegal to transport or sell wildlife killed in violation of any foreign law.

Officials said van Rensburg has not been arrested; an arrest warrant filed with the court orders “any authorized law enforcement officer” to take him into custody. The charges include wire fraud, conspiracy and violating the Endangered Species Act.

“The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners work together to support global efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife from illegal poaching,” Colorado U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer said. “(Fish and Wildlife Services) and our prosecutors did an extraordinary job investigating this case.”

Van Rensburg did not respond Monday to an email sent to an address listed on his company’s website.


Prosecutors did not name the hunter from Colorado who paid van Rensburg more than $39,000 to guide him on a hunt for elephants and a spokesman for Troyer’s office declined to identify the hunter.

Colorado federal prosecutors announced in April, though, that Paul Ross Jackson of Evergreen had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe

The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner — H.V.R. — in Jackson’s plea agreement mirror those in the indictment filed against van Rensburg.

Jackson was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the United States. He also was ordered to transfer the elephant’s tusks back to the Zimbabwean government.

The hunter has already cut his deal and now the other shoes are dropping.

I don’t understand how someone from another country who committed an act in another country can be charged with committing a crime in the US. I am not saying he did no wrong. It seems he violated the laws of other countries . The US I do not understand.

it's easy Larry. The USFWS is out of control and stretching the law to where ever it wants. The Lacy Act was not intended to be prosecuted in this manner.

.

So USFWS and the US judiciary are going to appeal to RSA to extradite him to stand trial in Colorado ? Or wait and hope that the idiot RSA PH flies into the USA one day and then grab him!

I don't really see either event happening......

.

Well.... He hasn't been charged in Zim. Interesting that..........
We have to be grateful that he is being charged somewhere for his poaching. Probably won't get charged in Zim because too many cards will fall.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I don’t understand how someone from another country who committed an act in another country can be charged with committing a crime in the US. I am not saying he did no wrong. It seems he violated the laws of other countries . The US I do not understand.

Because he made a deal with the USA hunter and he has plead. Law of the parties.

Now will RSA or Zimbabwe send theses folks to the USA? Doubtful. But is suspect the PH will not be attending any SCI or DSC events.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I don’t understand how someone from another country who committed an act in another country can be charged with committing a crime in the US. I am not saying he did no wrong. It seems he violated the laws of other countries . The US I do not understand.

https://mobile.nytimes.com/201...zens-on-us-soil.html


Mike

Ask Manuel Noriega how the U.S. prosecuted him. We have been doing this for a long time with drug and money laundering crime. It doesn't surprise me at all that it has been expanded to include game violations. Bring illegal drugs, money or in this case elephant tusks into the U.S. and you have a problem. And I'm not sure this is a bad thing if the facts are true. And I won't even delve into terrorism.

Don

I totally get Noriega. Under certain circumstances, I get terrorism. I do not understand indicting this PH.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I totally get Noriega. Under certain circumstances, I get terrorism. I do not understand indicting this PH.

This is us attorney too. Not the people I would want to mess around with especially if you are a us citizen or resident. It’s the full force of the us government against you.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I totally get Noriega. Under certain circumstances, I get terrorism. I do not understand indicting this PH.

Bet it's all for show. That PH will never be in a US courtroom.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I totally get Noriega. Under certain circumstances, I get terrorism. I do not understand indicting this PH.

I totally agree with you Larry.

I wish the laws are applied both ways too.

Sadly, there are many criminals wanted by other countries and the US will not extradite them.

I think we are on very shaky grounds here, as where are we going to draw the line?

Laws are different in different countries.

Certain things are not legal in one's country, but are perfectly legal in others, are you breaking the law if you participate in an activity that is perfectly legal in the country you are visiting??

As I said, we are on very shaky grounds here.

quote:

To conceal this contrivance, van Rensburg quizzed Colorado hunter on the layout of his house so that Colorado hunter could convincingly answer such questions and successfully represent himself as a South African resident,” according to the indictment.

What a load of hogwash!

According to that statement it would qualify all the illegal immigrants in the States and other countries to be legal residents.

To successfully represent oneself as a resident in any country you are required to produce valid paperwork not a description of your bloody house!

So now professional hunters have to know all the laws of the countries their clients come from?

I also don't get it but the US has in the past extradited Brits from the UK & prosecuted them in the US for computer hacking when that hacking took place in the UK.

Not all extradition attempts have been successful & I can think of at least 1 failure when the defendant claimed to have Asperger's Syndrome but IIRC some have succeeded.

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
I also don't get it but the US has in the past extradited Brits from the UK & prosecuted them in the US for computer hacking when that hacking took place in the UK.

Not all extradition attempts have been successful & I can think of at least 1 failure when the defendant claimed to have Asperger's Syndrome but IIRC some have succeeded.

Very true Steve.

But I have also read a number of times where the US has refused to extradite people who have committed crimes in other countries.

The thing is if we are going to into this, it has to be applied uniformly.

Europe refuses to extradite common criminals back to their home countries because the punishment there is more severe than in Europe.

That ugly sentence rear its head up again "human rights"

In extreme cases, in hunting, this might make professional hunters think twice before hunting with American clients.

How the hell can they know what American laws are they breaking while hunting!

I agree the US is taking its "World Cop" attitude too far... all in the name of ultraliberalism and "one world" governance.

Saeed

Although I guess it could be argued that it's probably preferable for him to be prosecuted in the US than in Zim or SA.

As someone said elsewhere, you can almost hear the campfire conversation that said 'Hang on, I think we can make a plan'.

What surprises me more than anything is the USF&WS went to the trouble of setting him up to offer their undercover agent a similar deal but I'd suspect that might have been done by email & as part of the plea bargain with the US hunter who probably gave USF&WS the name of the PH.

As I've often said, the Lacey Act is an immensely powerful tool & in fact, this scenario is very like the example I use in my book to explain how what might seem to be a minor or almost unprovable infraction can have very serious consequences further down the line.

I, for one, don't have a problem with this, and, BTW, a lot of countries have these types of laws.

Most PHs operate ethically, and to say that someone had a good hunt with him in South Africa is a different matter. They probably did. But bent South African PHs conniving with bent Zimbabwe operators has always been a problem, but it's now out of control, so this is good.

And, BTW, the case will be prosecuted in Zimbabwe.

You can tell from the connivance, purporting to be South African, bribing game scouts, this guy is a bottom-feeder of the worst order.

Only Democrats choose the laws they want enforced - so if you're good with it for drug offences and good with it for terrorism, you more or less have to be good with it for an offence like this.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I don’t understand how someone from another country who committed an act in another country can be charged with committing a crime in the US. I am not saying he did no wrong. It seems he violated the laws of other countries . The US I do not understand.

To be fair, the Lacey Act has been around since 1900, and it is VERY well known among US hunters. It basically prohibits trade in wildlife products that have been illegally taken, and this "hunt" broke about as many laws as one can. I don't personally believe that any ethical hunter should have a problem with this.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
So now professional hunters have to know all the laws of the countries their clients come from?

quote:

Originally posted by ijl:
To be fair, the Lacey Act has been around since 1900, and it is VERY well known among US hunters. It basically prohibits trade in wildlife products that have been illegally taken, and this "hunt" broke about as many laws as one can. I don't personally believe that any ethical hunter should have a problem with this.

The Lacey Act is much more than that & can be applied to all sorts of other things as well.............. The Gibson Guitar company prosecution being a good example.

It really is a ferocious piece of legislation.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr...lacey-act-violations

Stev’s post is correct.

While running the Lion Conservation Task Force...I studied the Lacey Act intensively...it does have far reaching implications.

quote:

Originally posted by ijl:
I, for one, don't have a problem with this, and, BTW, a lot of countries have these types of laws.

Most PHs operate ethically, and to say that someone had a good hunt with him in South Africa is a different matter. They probably did. But bent South African PHs conniving with bent Zimbabwe operators has always been a problem, but it's now out of control, so this is good.

And, BTW, the case will be prosecuted in Zimbabwe.

You can tell from the connivance, purporting to be South African, bribing game scouts, this guy is a bottom-feeder of the worst order.

Only Democrats choose the laws they want enforced - so if you're good with it for drug offences and good with it for terrorism, you more or less have to be good with it for an offence like this.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
I don’t understand how someone from another country who committed an act in another country can be charged with committing a crime in the US. I am not saying he did no wrong. It seems he violated the laws of other countries . The US I do not understand.

Don’t read into my post something it didn’t say. If they violated the laws here, fine. Go for it. What I am trying to understand (as opposed to saying it was wrong) is how he violated a US law when he is not a citizen, the act did not occur here and apparently the ivory was not imported.

My next question is why Nixon wasn’t indicted? Isn’t he just as guilty?

Larry,

The Lacey Act is a really poisonous piece of legislation & can be be applied to anyone, anywhere for breaking any game law anywhere in the world no matter what passport they hold....... Whether they can be deported to the US is a different matter but this case proves the US is willing to try.

Steve:

I have no idea if that is true or not. That seems totally unreasonable and unforceable to me. What’s next?a speeding ticket issued in the US for driving too fast in Europe?

https://www.animallaw.info/art...-16-usc-ss-3371-3378

The link above is to an article that is a brief overview of the Lacey Act. It MIGHT provide some insight into how it applies in this case. It discusses an amendment under which outfitters conducting illegal hunts are guilty of Lacey Act violations. It does not mention whether these outfitters are foreign or domestic.

I makes me wonder even more why Nixon was not charged. Before any of Nixon’s supporters start thinking that I am down on him, let me say I am simply trying to learn. Nothing more nothing less.

Did anyone ask if the PH was in the USA when he sold the hunt? Often the USF&W will walk the show floor and make busts by pretending to be a client. I know of two such incidents at DSC. This could have been at a local chapter meeting or convention in Colorado.

That would make the jurisdiction a little easier to imagine.

Again, in an attempt to educate myself, how did USFWS get involved in this if there was no import? I would really like to know the answer to that.

Wendell brings up a good point. However, that hunt could have been legal with a proper Zim PH.

Another possibility is that the Frankfurt Zoological Society turned them in.

We are all speculating.

https://www.heritage.org/crime...alization-and-unjust


Mike

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Again, in an attempt to educate myself, how did USFWS get involved in this if there was no import? I would really like to know the answer to that.

Wendell brings up a good point. However, that hunt could have been legal with a proper Zim PH.

Another possibility is that the Frankfurt Zoological Society turned them in.

We are all speculating.

http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/...=1671&context=wmelpr

Ignore the policy view. But it has cites to cases and legislation.

Mike

https://www.justice.gov/usao/p...file/439556/download

Mike

https://patch.com/colorado/den...rge-man-who-led-hunt



In February of 2016, Van Rensburg allegedly paid for a booth for Authentic African Adventures at a convention in Las Vegas, where he advertised excursions that could hunt and kill large bull elephants.

Over the course of the next few months, Van Rensburg allegedly attempted to pitch an undercover agent a $50,000 guided hunt in the same location outside Gonarezhou National Park. He told the agent he could obtain tags to hunt inside the park via bribery and openly "described in detail his previous illegal hunt in Gonarezhou National Park," the court documents said.

Describing the hunt with the Colorado man, Van Rensburg told the undercover agent his team shot one elephant at night, which he admitted was "not allowed." The animal escaped, and Van Rensburg said part of the bribe money had to go to local officials to allow the team to continue to hunt because "if an animal was wounded it was considered 'hunted' and that you have to pay for it even if you don't find it." The team also shot and killed a smaller elephant, which was deemed too small. The larger elephant, shot in the park, was wounded and then tracked for 10 miles, the indictment said.

Van Rensburg told these facts to the undercover agents to explain that even if a hunting party had not killed a significant elephant, local officials could always be bribed to let them keep hunting, the indictment said.

"[I]f they need another tag, they get another tag. You know, that's the negative part of it. The system is so corrupt. If they need to get it, they will get it. If the client pays the money they will find another tag. I am straight forward with you. Corruption is the rule in Africa." Van Rensburg allegedly advised the undercover agent to bring an extra $9,000 in "extras" for potential bribe money that "we can use in camp to make things straight if we need to," the charges allege.

There is our answer.

Someone should put old Van in a windowless, toiletless room and lock him for good!

The question now is who was the Zimbabwe operator?

Copy of 17 page indictment



IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLORADO
Criminal Case No.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
HANNO VAN RENSBURG,
Defendant.
INDICTMENT
18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 1343, 1349; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3372(a)(4), 3373(d)(1)(B),
1538(a)(1)(G), 1540(b)(1); 50 C.F.R. §§ 17.11, 17.21(e); 17.31(a); 17.40(e)(6)(ii)
______________________________________________________________________________
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
Background: The Regulation of Trade in Threatened or Endangered Species
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flora (“CITES”), was signed by the United States in 1973 and became effective in 1975.
CITES regulated the international trade in wildlife by placing species onto three “Appendices”
based on the species’ relative threatened status: species on Appendix One are the most
seriously threatened and, therefore, the most restricted; species on Appendix Two, such as the
African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) are not as threatened and can be traded with an
appropriate permit; species on Appendix Three are those that are of concern only in a particular
country and are the least regulated.
2. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service implemented CITES in the United
States through the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) and its associated regulations. See 50
18-cr-00238-PAB
Case 1:18-cr-00238-PAB Document 1 Filed 05/17/18 USDC Colorado Page 1 of 17
2
C.F.R. §§ 17.1(a) and 23.1(c). The ESA, 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(G), made it unlawful to
violate any regulation pertaining to a threatened species.
3. The African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) was listed as “threatened” under the
Endangered Species Act, which executed the CITES by establishing a program for the
conservation of endangered and threatened species designated as such by the Secretaries of the
Interior and Commerce. 50 C.F.R. § 17.11. On July 17, 2014, the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service (the “Service”) determined that the import of sport-hunted African Elephant
trophies taken in Zimbabwe on or after April 4, 2014 would not be allowed. On March 26,
2015, the Service extended the ban on the import of sport-hunted African Elephant trophies into
2015 and to all future hunting seasons until such time as the Service could obtain necessary
information about the status of Zimbabwe’s elephant population.
4. It was a violation of the ESA’s regulations to deliver, receive, carry, transport or
ship in foreign commerce, by any means whatsoever, and in the course of a commercial activity,
any threatened wildlife. See 50 C.F.R. § 17.31 (applying provisions of 50 C.F.R. § 17.21).
However, the regulations at 50 C.F.R. §17.40 contain a special rule for the African Elephant
(Loxodonta Africana).
5. The special regulations for the African Elephant made it unlawful to deliver,
receive, carry, transport or ship in interstate or foreign commerce and in the course of a
commercial activity any sport-hunted African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) trophy. 50
C.F.R. § 17.40(e)(6)(ii). Furthermore, only trophies taken legally in an African elephant range
country qualified as sport-hunted. 50 C.F.R. § 17.40(e)(6)(i)(A).
6. The Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, 16 U.S.C. § 3371 et seq., (“the Lacey
Act”), made it unlawful for any person knowingly to, among other things, transport or sell in
Case 1:18-cr-00238-PAB Document 1 Filed 05/17/18 USDC Colorado Page 2 of 17
3
foreign commerce any wildlife which the person knows to have been taken, possessed,
transported or sold in violation of any foreign law.
7. “Wildlife” was defined in the Lacey Act to include any wild animal, including the
African Elephant, whether alive or dead, and including any part or product thereof.
8. “Taken” was defined in the Lacey Act to mean captured, killed, or collected.
9. “Sale” and Purchase” were each respectively defined to include “guiding,
outfitting, or other services.”
Background: Relevant Entities and Persons
10. HANNO VAN RENSBURG was a resident and citizen of the Republic of South
Africa (“South Africa”). He was a professional hunter who owned and operated AUTHENTIC
AFRICAN ADVENTURES, a South African company through which he marketed and sold
hunts to American citizens.
11. COLORADO HUNTER was a resident of Colorado, in the State and District of
Colorado. COLORADO HUNTER was not a resident or citizen of South Africa and did not
maintain a residence in South Africa.
12. UNDERCOVER HUNTER was a Special Agent with the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement operating out of the state and District of Colorado.
13. ZIMBABWE HUNTER, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, was a
resident and citizen of the Republic of Zimbabwe (“Zimbabwe”). ZIMBABWE HUNTER was
a professional hunter who owned and operated a Zimbabwe-based outfitting company, the
identity of which is known to the Grand Jury, through which ZIMBABWE HUNTER provided
hunting-related services, including guided hunts, dipping and packing, and the facilitation of
export permits.
Case 1:18-cr-00238-PAB Document 1 Filed 05/17/18 USDC Colorado Page 3 of 17
4
14. FACILITATOR, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, was a resident of
New York. FACILITATOR was an employee of a New York Corporation, the identity of
which is known to the grand jury, in the business of facilitating the import of hunting trophies by
coordinating with the foreign exporter, the professional hunter, taxidermists, and shipping
companies. FACILITATOR was given a power of attorney by COLORADO HUNTER to
handle all of his importing and exporting matters.
COUNTS 1 - 3
15. In or about and between March 2015 and August 2016, both dates being
approximate and inclusive, in the State and District of Colorado and elsewhere the defendant,
HANNO VAN RENSBURG, together and with other persons known and unknown to the Grand
Jury, devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the Zimbabwe Parks and
Wild Life Authority by obtaining property, to wit, an export permit, by means of false and
fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises relating to COLORADO HUNTER’s
purported residence in South Africa (hereinafter “the scheme”). The scheme is further
described as follows:
I. The Fraudulent Scheme
16. HANNO VAN RENSBURG, and others, (a) sought out an opportunity to hunt the
large elephants that frequent the area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, (b)
retained the services of a Zimbabwe-based outfitter with access to a concession on the border of
Gonarezhou National Park, with the goal of hunting large elephants inside the park, (c) shot
several elephants, (d) fraudulently ignored the first elephant shot in order to falsely justify an
incursion into the Gonarezhou National Park to kill the largest possible elephant inside the Park,
(d) paid somewhere between $5,000 and $8,000 in bribes to Zimbabwean government officials
Case 1:18-cr-00238-PAB Document 1 Filed 05/17/18 USDC Colorado Page 4 of 17
5
in return for their permission to authorize the shooting of multiple elephants, the killing of an
elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park, and the release of the elephant’s ivory tusks, (e)
falsely represented on a “Hunting Return Form – TRAS2 Application for Hunting NP/CITES”
issued by the government of Zimbabwe that the elephant was wounded and killed outside
Gonarezhou National Park, and (f) sought to manufacture and submit to the Zimbabwe Parks and
Wild Life Authority a letter, affidavit, or document falsely stating that the elephant was hunted
by a resident of South Africa for the purpose of obtaining an export permit.
II. The Illegal Elephant Hunt Inside Gonarezhou National Park
17. HANNO VAN RENSBURG received approximately $39,195 to lead
COLORADO HUNTER on a hunt in Gonarezhou National Park COLORADO HUNTER
wired approximately $19,195 from his Colorado bank account to VAN RENSBURG in South
Africa on or about March 9, 2015 and $20,000 on or about April 20, 2015.
18. HANNO VAN RENSBURG took COLORADO HUNTER on the paid-for hunt
sometime between April 22, 2015 and May 6, 2015. During the hunt, COLORADO HUNTER
shot and wounded, but did not kill, an elephant. The hunting party, including VAN
RENSBURG, tracked the wounded elephant into Gonarezhou National Park but was ultimately
unable to find it. While inside the park, the party shot and wounded a different elephant.
While tracking that elephant, VAN RENSBURG caught the trail of yet another elephant, this one
with pus in its blood trail indicating a much older injury. VAN RENSBURG and the rest of the
party followed this trail until they found the elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park. Within
the National Park, the hunting party shot and killed this elephant, which was not the elephant that
was first wounded outside the park.
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19. After the first elephant was shot and wounded, HANNO VAN RENSBURG and
the rest of the hunting party asked the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Authority for permission
to enter Gonarezhou National Park to kill the elephant. As a result, they were joined on the
hunt by several “game scouts” from the Zimbabwean government. During or after the hunt,
with the exact time being unknown, VAN RENSBURG and COLORADO HUNTER agreed to
pay and paid a bribe to the game scouts of between $5,000 and $8,000 so that they could (1)
shoot elephants other than the one that was first shot and wounded and (2) kill an elephant inside
Gonarezhou National Park, in violation of the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Act.
III. The Effort to Fraudulently Obtain a Permit to Export the Illegally
Killed Elephant into South Africa
20. HANNO VAN RENSBURG worked with his client, COLORADO HUNTER, to
export the African Elephant from Zimbabwe to South Africa in violation of international and
Zimbabwean law where COLORADO HUNTER could use casts of the elephant’s tusks for his
trophy and then sell the ivory in foreign commerce.
21. On February 5, 2016, HANNO VAN RENSBURG met with COLORADO
HUNTER, to discuss, among other things, a way for COLORADO HUNTER to obtain an export
permit. In previous correspondence, ZIMBABWE HUNTER had notified COLORADO
HUNTER that COLORADO HUNTER might be able to obtain such a permit by showing that he
had a residence in South Africa. During the meeting, VAN RENSBURG and COLORADO
HUNTER discussed how they might falsely tell the Zimbabwean authorities that COLORADO
HUNTER resided with VAN RENSBURG in South Africa. To conceal this contrivance, VAN
RENSBURG quizzed COLORADO HUNTER on the layout of his house so that COLORADO
HUNTER could convincingly answer such questions and successfully represent himself as a
South African resident.
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22. As part of the process of obtaining the African Elephant from the Zimbabwe Fish
and Wild Life Authority, HANNO VAN RENSBURG and COLORADO HUNTER submitted a
hunting permit that falsely stated the elephant was killed outside of Gonarezhou National Park.
As a result of this deception, HANNO VAN RENSBURG and COLORADO HUNTER
eventually received property in the form of a CITES export permit issued by Zimbabwe on
August 26, 2016 for 4 bones, 4 feet, 3 panels, 1 cape, 1 skull and two tusks —respectively
stamped ZW2015 26037-26 and SW2015 26-38-27 — belonging to the elephant they had killed
in Gonarezhou National Park.
IV. The Wires Transmitted for the Purpose of Executing the Scheme
23. On or about the dates set forth below, for the purposes of executing such scheme
and artifice, HANNO VAN RENSBURG did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of
wire communications in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and
sounds, as set forth below:
Count Approximate Date Description
ONE March 9, 2015 Wire Transfer of approximately $19,195 from Coloradobased
U.S. Bank account xxxxxxxxxxx6430 in the name of
COLORADO HUNTER to ABSA Bank Limited in South
Africa as partial payment for an elephant hunt
TWO April 20, 2015 Wire Transfer of approximately $20,000 from Coloradobased
U.S. Bank account xxxxxxxxxxx6430 in the name of
COLORADO HUNTER to ABSA Bank Limited in South
Africa as partial payment for an elephant hunt
THREE February 22, 2016 Email from VAN RENSBURG to, among others,
COLORADO HUNTER’s Colorado-based email relating to
an effort to obtain a false certification that COLORADO
HUNTER resided in South Africa.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2 and 1343.
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COUNT 4
24. Paragraphs 15 through 22 of this Indictment are hereby re-alleged as if set out in
full and incorporated herein by reference.
25. Between in or about April 2015 and August 2016, both dates being approximate
and inclusive, in the State and District of Colorado and elsewhere, HANNO VAN RENSBURG,
did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate and agree with COLORADO HUNTER,
FACILITATOR, and with other persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury, to commit wire
fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
I. Purpose of the Conspiracy
26. A purpose of the conspiracy was to deceive the government of Zimbabwe in order
to kill the largest bull elephant HANNO VAN RENSBURG, COLORADO HUNTER, and the
rest of their hunting party could find and then export that elephant outside of Zimbabwe.
II. Manner and Means of the Conspiracy
27. The conspiracy was furthered using the following manner and means:
a. VAN RENSBURG and COLORADO HUNTER paid bribes to Zimbabwe
game scouts so that those government officials would allow the illegal hunt and allow the dead
elephant’s ivory to be transported outside of the park;
b. VAN RENSBURG, COLORADO HUNTER, and FACILITATOR,
falsely represented on a Zimbabwe hunting permit that the African Elephant was killed outside
of Gonarezhou National Park;
c. VAN RENSBURG, COLORADO HUNTER, and FACILITATOR sought
to manufacture and submit to the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Authority a letter, affidavit, or
document falsely stating that COLORADO HUNTER was a resident of South Africa.
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d. VAN RENSBURG, COLORADO HUNTER and FACILITATOR used
email servers located in the United States and elsewhere to communicate with one another about
efforts to export an elephant illegally killed in Gonarezhou National Park from Zimbabwe to
South Africa.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
COUNT 5
28. Paragraphs 16 through 19 of this Indictment are hereby re-alleged as if set out in
full and incorporated herein by reference.
29. The Zimbabwean Parks and Wild Life Act made it unlawful, with certain
exceptions granted by the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Authority, to hunt any wildlife in a
national park or to sell any animal or any part of an animal which has been hunted in or has died
in or has been removed from a national park. That same act designated a 505,300 hectare area
of the Chiredzi District of Zimbabwe as a national park called Gonarezhou National Park.
30. Between in or about April, 2015, and May, 2015, both dates being approximate
and inclusive, in the State and District of Colorado and elsewhere, the defendant, HANNO VAN
RENSBURG, did knowingly engage in conduct that involved the sale and the intent to sell
wildlife with a market value in excess of $350.00, that is, an African Elephant (Loxodonta
Africana) to COLORADO HUNTER and did knowingly sell that African Elephant in interstate
and foreign commerce knowing that the African Elephant was taken in violation of and in a
manner unlawful under the laws of Zimbabwe, specifically the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life
Act.
All in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and
3373(d)(1)(B).
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COUNT 6
31. Paragraph 29 of this Indictment is hereby re-alleged as if set out in full and
incorporated herein by reference.
32. As part of his outfitting business, AUTHENTIC AFRICAN ADVENTURES,
HANNO VAN RENSBURG travelled to hunting conventions in the United States to market
African hunts to American hunters, including hunters in Colorado. Between February 2016 and
February 2017 HANNO VAN RENSBURG marketed and advertised himself to
UNDERCOVER HUNTER as an outfitter who would help his clients hunt and export large bull
African elephants through a variety of illegal methods and means, including (1) helping his
clients illegally obtain permits to hunt in and around Gonarezhou National Park, (2) working
with his clients to obtain false justifications to hunt the large elephants that frequent Gonarezhou
National Park, (3) illegally hunting elephants inside Gonarezhou National Park, (4) making false
statements to help clients obtain the permits necessary to hunt and transport elephant trophies,
and (5) paying bribes to appropriate Zimbabwean government officials to permit otherwise
illegal hunts. After advertising himself this way, using his successful hunt with COLORADO
HUNTER as an example, VAN RENSBURG attempted to sell UNDERCOVER HUNTER the
same illegal hunting experience.
I. HANNO VAN RENSBURG’s Marketing and Advertising of an Illegal
Hunt to UNDERCOVER HUNTER in February 2016.
33. Between approximately February 3, 2016 and February 6, 2016, HANNO VAN
RENSBURG operated a booth for AUTHENTIC AFRICAN ADVENTURES at a convention in
Las Vegas, Nevada. At the booth, VAN RENSBURG advertised that he was a professional
hunter from South Africa in the business of guiding hunters in their efforts to kill large African
elephants.
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34. UNDERCOVER HUNTER met with HANNO VAN RENSBURG and
COLORADO HUNTER at the booth for AUTHENTIC AFRICAN ADVENTURES on February
5, 2016. At that time, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service banned the import into the
United States of sport-hunted African Elephant trophies. VAN RENSBURG told
UNDERCOVER HUNTER that he could not guarantee that UNDERCOVER HUNTER would
be able to bring ivory back from Zimbabwe but suggested “anything is possible, you just have to
know how.” VAN RENSBURG then advertised the work he had done for COLORADO
HUNTER, telling UNDERCOVER HUNTER that COLORADO HUNTER had killed a large
elephant in Gonarezhou National Park and that he was trying to get the elephant ivory out of
Zimbabwe but “there are no guarantees.” VAN RENSBURG also marketed himself as
someone who would commit illegal acts for his clients, if necessary to secure a large elephant
trophy. As an example, when asked whether the Zimbabwe government would authorize the
killing of African Elephant inside Gonarezhou National Park, VAN RENSBURG told
UNDERCOVER HUNTER he had been able to “make it ok” and “justify” an incursion into
Gonarezhou National Park on “safety grounds.”
35. UNDERCOVER HUNTER met again with HANNO VAN RENSBURG at the
booth for Authentic African Adventures on February 6, 2016.
a. During the meeting VAN RENSBURG quoted a price of $50,000 for a 12-
day elephant hunt.
b. When UNDERCOVER HUNTER asked VAN RENSBURG about a hunt
inside Gonarezhou National Park, VAN RENSBURG stated “we shot that thing in the
Gonarezhou — that is not allowed” and “we shot it in the park. . . . We did a lot of things with
[COLORADO HUNTER] Go into the park, get the big elephant, come back, it’s not supposed
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to be like that.” Later, when UNDERCOVER HUNTER expressed disbelief about
“government guy” going along with the hunt, VAN RESNBURG responded “money talks.”
c. VAN RENSBURG told UNDERCOVER HUNTER that it would be a bad
idea to plan an illegal hunt from the start, but that he was willing to be flexible if the right
circumstances emerged during a hunt. VAN RENSBURG told UNDERCOVER HUNTER “I
don’t want to, I don’t want to do things like that . . . .It’s available. On the hunt things might
happen but you can’t tell, when I get to there I get a different scout I don’t know. I might get
another guy working there which I don’t know. So every time you go there, it’s different.
There’s not one guy may be the same but the rest is new guys. So you don’t know their ways,
you don’t know. Zimbabwe is fucked up. That’s what I’m telling you. There’s good
hunting, but the system, the system. And if you go in, we need to fly in, you know. Fly in.
When we’re done hunting you got to fly out. Get in a plane.”
d. Earlier in the conversation, VAN RENSBURG used his hunt with
COLORADO HUNTER as an example, telling UNDERCOVER HUNTER “the goal was to get
it on the ground. Go back. I didn’t even stop at the border. Clear guns. I didn’t. Pay
money. Whoom. I had enough.” He then told UNDERCOVER HUNTER “to get the
elephant in that park, there was a lot of, you know, need to sort out this guy, need to keep this
guy. You know, there’s a lot of things to do so, if it turns out bad, what happens? If it turns
out bad, I don’t want to be there anymore.”
II. HANNO VAN RENSBURG’s Continued Efforts to Sell
UNDERCOVER HUNTER an Illegal Hunt
36. After the convention in 2016, and just before another convention in 2017,
HANNO VAN RENSBURG continued his effort to sell UNDERCOVER HUNTER a hunt
similar to the one he had sold COLORADO HUNTER. On July 8, HANNO VAN
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RENSBURG sent a text to UNDERCOVER HUNTER in Colorado about a future hunt: “I will
set you up and go but fly in only!!! Will go to same place where [COLORADO HUNTER] and
120 pounder was kill! But no guarantee on any tusk come out of Zim! Hunt for picture!!! Zim
system failed. I will only be observer and body guard lol.”
37. After receiving the text from HANNO VAN RENSBURG, UNDERCOVER
HUNTER called VAN RENSBURG from Colorado on July 8, 2016, and spoke to him on the
telephone. During the call, VAN RENSBURG told UNDERCOVER HUNTER “last time I
paid $8,000 in 14 days in bribery to make everything happen. You know, to pay $8,000 out of
my pocket for — you know, it’s not worth it . . . I get a happy customer, but I take the loss.”
38. On January 6, 2017, HANNO VAN RENSBURG continued his text conversation
with UNDERCOVER HUNTER, telling UNDERCOVER HUNTER via text that he stays in the
United States during his “low season” between November and March and that “marketing season
is dec jan feb march!”
39. On January 14, 2017 UNDERCOVER HUNTER received in Colorado a text from
HANNO VAN RENSBURG: “I send all the emails from them! Big 100 pounder plus charter
in and out that area its more ore [sic] less 54000 plus charter and some money add $9000 to be
sure! Get to easy $63000.” That same day, UNDERCOVER HUNTER received from VAN
RENSBURG an email chain comprising correspondence between VAN RENSBURG and the
Zimbabwean hunter who had facilitated COLORADO HUNTER and VAN RENSBURG’s 2015
hunt inside Gonarezhou National Park. The email included pricing information for a hunt. In
the email forwarding the chain to UNDERCOVER HUNTER, VAN RENSBURG wrote “Now
you decide.”
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40. That same day, January 14, 2017, UNDERCOVER HUNTER and HANNO VAN
RENSBURG continued discussing the possibility of an elephant hunt and the status of
COLORADO HUNTER’s effort to get the elephant out of Zimbabwe via text message:
UNDERCOVER HUNTER: “Did you guys film [COLORADO HUNTER’s] hunt?”
VAN RENSBURG: “No it was night! And when we go in there we did no
camera was allowed. [UNDERCOVER HUNTER] that
hunt was one of my night mares! Plenty bribes to get that
elephunt [sic].”
UNDERCOVER HUNTER: “He said he finally got it out of Zim.”
VAN RENSBURG: “I hate when things go wrong and need to pay for that [sic]
I paid already. Yes but no easy. Many dollars later.”
III. HANNO VAN RENSBURG’S Attempt to Sell UNDERCOVER
HUNTER an Illegal Hunt in February 2017
41. UNDERCOVER HUNTER met with HANNO VAN RENSBURG at a
convention in Las Vegas on February 1, 2017.
a. During the meeting, VAN RESNBURG said there were approximately 8
or 9 elephant tags available. However, VAN RENSBURG stated “But you know about
Zimbabwe, how it works. If they need another tag, they get another tag. You know, that’s the
negative part of it. The system is so corrupt. If they need to get it, they will get it. If the
client pays the money they will find another tag. I am straightforward with you. Corruption is
the rule in Africa.” VAN RENSBURG quoted a price of $65,000 for an elephant hunt in
Zimbabwe. He also suggested that UNDERCOVER HUNTER have about $9,000 for “extras.”
“Some of that money we can use in camp to make things straight if we need to, which with
[COLORADO HUNTER] I had to get it out of my pocket. I tell him straight it was, you know I
had to do some things to sort it out.” VAN RENSBURG then complained that because the
price of sorting things out was not planned in advance “I pay, it doesn’t work for me like that. I
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put it in a quote. I show you. . . . So I put it in there now. How we spend that, you will see
it, and I say something happen . . . . We don’t use it, give back to you.”
b. UNDERCOVER HUNTER showed VAN RENSBURG a photo of
COLORADO HUNTER posing with the elephant killed in Gonarezhou National Park in 2015.
VAN RENSBURG then identified other men in the photograph as Zimbabwean game scouts.
“That was in the park . . . . Everyone was part of making it happen. But they was good. That
guide was good with us, you know. We had no problem and I could have, probably give them
less money, but I said, you know ‘everything is good.’ And they said, they told me amount that is
good for everyone split and everyone is good.”
c. VAN RENSBURG then again provided an example to UNDERCOVER
HUNTER of the type of service he was willing to provide clients. VAN RENSBURG told
UNDERCOVER HUNTER that COLORADO HUNTER actually shot three elephants in 2015:
“the thing is, you know, and to make all this because you got a client you want to send back
happy with tusks, get a picture, that’s the most important thing. That’s why . . . I don’t do
things like that. . . . First one was at night — not allowed.” VAN RENSBURG then
explained that if an animal was wounded it was considered “hunted” and that you have to pay for
it even if you don’t find it. “So that’s what the eight thousand dollars gets you, so they forget
about the first one.” VAN RENSBURG said that a second elephant, a smaller one, was shot by
a professional hunter in their party, but that VAN RENSBURG thought it was the wrong
elephant. The third elephant, the one that COLORADO HUNTER shot and killed in the park,
was a wounded one that was tracked for about ten miles.
d. While VAN RENSBURG was speaking to UNDERCOVER HUNTER at
the booth, VAN RENSBURG sent an email to the Zimbabwean hunter who could sponsor their
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hunt in the same concession area COLORADO HUNTER and VAN RENSBURG had visited as
part of the 2015 hunt inside Gonarezhou National Park. VAN RENSBURG also attempted to
sell UNDERCOVER HUNTER the hunt, telling UNDERCOVER HUNTER that
UNDERCOVER HUNTER could transfer money to a bank account in the United States
controlled by VAN RENSBURG.
42. Between in or about February 2016 and February 2017, in the State and District
of Colorado and elsewhere, the defendant, HANNO VAN RENSBURG, did knowingly engage
in conduct that involved the offer to sell and the intent to sell wildlife with a market value in
excess of $350.00, that is, an African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) to UNDERCOVER
HUNTER and did knowingly attempt to sell, receive, and acquire that African Elephant in
interstate and foreign commerce in violation of and in a manner unlawful under the laws of
Zimbabwe, specifically the Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Act.
All in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A), 3372(a)(4), and
3373(d)(1)(B).
COUNT 7
43. Paragraphs 16 through 22, 29, 34-37, 40, and 41, and all relevant sub-paragraphs,
are incorporated here by reference as if fully set forth within this Count.
44. Between in or about April 2015 and August 2016, in the State and District of
Colorado and elsewhere, the defendant, HANNO VAN RENSBURG, knowingly violated and
did aid, abet, counsel, command, induce and procure the violation of, a Fish and Wildlife Service
Regulation, to wit the regulation making it unlawful to deliver, carry, transport, or ship in foreign
commerce a CITES-protected African Elephant (Loxodonta Africana) taken in violation of the
Zimbabwe Parks and Wild Life Act, in the course of commercial activity.
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All in violation of Title 18, Section 2; Title 16, United States Code, Sections
1538(a)(1)(G) and 1540(b)(1); Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 17.11, 17.21(e),
17.31(a), and 17.40(e)(6)(ii).
A TRUE BILL:
Ink signature on file in Clerk’s Office
FOREPERSON
ROBERT C. TROYER
United States Attorney
By: s/Bryan David Fields
BRYAN DAVID FIELDS
SUNEETA HAZRA
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
U.S. Attorney’s Office
1801 California Street, Suite 1600
Denver, CO 80202
Telephone: (303) 454-0100
Fax: (303) 454-0409
e-mail: Bryan.Fields3@usdoj.gov
Attorney for the Government