4 people in US steal dinosaur bones worth over $1 million, sell them to China. See pics

One of the dinosaur fossils retrieved by the US Department of Justice. (Image credit: @BLMUtah/X)

Four people in the US have been accused of stealing dinosaur bones worth more than $1 million and selling them to China. The act apparently caused the country more than $3 million in damages including the commercial and scientific value of the fossils.

The accused -- Vint Wade (65) and Donna Wade (67), Steven Willing (67), and Jordan Willing (40) have committed multiple felonies and violated the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, a statement from the US Attorney's Office for the District of Utah stated.

It added that the group worked together to purchase, transport, and export dinosaur bones taken from government lands from March 2018 until March 2023. These lands hold bones, fossils, and other paleontological resources dating back to the Jurassic period.

A federal grand jury indicted four people for allegedly stealing and selling more than 150,000 pounds of paleontological resources in the most significant violation of the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act; more than $1 million in fossilized materials sold. (link in bio) pic.twitter.com/DSpjlEhZEC

— Bureau of Land Management Utah (@BLMUtah) October 19, 2023

"A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned a 13-count indictment charging four people for allegedly purchasing and selling over $1 million in paleontological resources. The dollar amount represents 150,000 pounds of paleontological resources, including dinosaur bones, illegally removed from federal and state lands in southeastern Utah," the US Attorney's Office stated.

According to the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act (PRPA), paleontological resources mean any fossilised remains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in or on the earth’s crust, that have paleontological interest and provide information about the history of life on earth.

The accused tried to evade the official agents by labeling the dinosaur fossils as wood, rocks, and stones. In selling them to China, the group caused the country damage of more than $3 million encompassing the fossils' commercial and scientific worth.

“By removing and processing these dinosaur bones to make consumer products for profit, tens of thousands of pounds of dinosaur bones have lost virtually all scientific value, leaving future generations unable to experience the science and wonder of these bones on Federal land,” US Attorney Trina A Higgins said in a statement.

Read more: 'Most gigantic': 122-million-year-old dinosaur identified in Spain