SARCOXIE, Mo. (AP) - A southwest Missouri man pleaded guilty to evading federal reporting rules to conceal the fact that some of the cooking oil he sold was stolen.
Under a plea agreement Tuesday, 46-six-year-old Jesse Arnold of Sarcoxie was required to forfeit $207,817.
The Joplin Globe reports (http://bit.ly/WqQPte ) Arnold operated 4 States Grease Co., which collected used cooking oil and resold it to be used as biodegradable diesel fuel and made into recyclable products.
Arnold admitted that he had reason to suspect he was buying cooking oil that had been stolen from businesses in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
In order to avoid federal reporting requirements, Arnold made numerous withdrawals from his business checking count for less than $10,000. Banks must file a currency transaction report for any financial transaction over $10,000.
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Information from: The Joplin (Mo.) Globe, http://www.joplinglobe.com