Feds bust multistate grease-heist ring accused of stealing used cooking oil for cash

(KWQC) - Federal prosecutors in Des Moines have charged 13 people in a multistate used‑cooking‑oil theft ring, a kind of “grease heist” operation that stretched across 10 states and allegedly laundering profits through a network of warehouses.

Prosecutors say the defendants are Chinese nationals and participated in a racketeering and interstate-theft conspiracy involving used cooking oil collected from restaurant tanks in Iowa and Illinois and at least eight other states, including Tennessee, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Nebraska, Missouri and Kentucky.

The oil, which can be refined into biodiesel and resold, was allegedly hauled by truck to warehouses in Nevada, Iowa, Tennessee, Alabama, and Ohio, where it was sold and the profits laundered.

Those charged include residents of Iowa, New York, Ohio, Texas, and Oklahoma. Several face racketeering conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, and money laundering counts.

Federal search and arrest warrants were executed Tuesday in Iowa, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Texas. Four defendants — Xian Quan Guo and Jianfa Huang of Des Moines, and Futao Wang and Xiangjing Wang of Des Moines — made initial appearances in federal court in the Southern District of Iowa, where a trial date was set for Feb. 2, 2026. The remaining defendants are scheduled to appear in Des Moines at later dates.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Theft rings have also known to steal fuel by tampering with the pumps, card skimming, or siphoning from underground tanks and are put into makeshift bladders in the back of trucks. The stolen fuel is later sold at a discount and tax-free. In March, the third member of a card-skimming ring pleaded guilty to fraud.