The Ohio man accused of selling fake hunting leases to hunters across the country has finally been sentenced to prison. Nathanal Knox, 30, was on quite a roll with his new business of selling hunting opportunities to hunters from across the country. The only problem was, he was a fraud.
Knox was a con man. He suckered a number of optimistic hunters out of a pile of cash for hunts that would never happen.
Court documents say the man placed online ads for hunting leases, supposedly available on several parcels of land in Ohio, that he had no rights to sell. In fact, he had ads placed on nearly 40 different Facebook pages to draw hunters from across the country to his scheme.
Knox collected anywhere from $400 to $5,000 for the fake hunting leases with payments being made through a number of digital payment methods like PayPal, Walmart 2 Walmart, Money Gram, Western Union, and Venmo.
A release says Knox made deals with over 68 hunters, all residing outside of Ohio, with at least 59 following through with payment, totaling over $34,000.
What is Knox’s time for the crime?
Reports say he was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, with three years of supervised release and restitution of $18,037.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were responsible for investigating the case.
“Protecting sustainable hunting of America’s wildlife resources is bedrock to our mission in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,” said Assistant Director Edward Grace of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. “Investigating those who prey on individuals attempting to hunt lawfully by defrauding them is our trusted responsibility to the American people.”
What do you think? Did Knox get what he deserves? Comment below, and let us know your thoughts on this case.
