Executive Summary
- 13 individuals face RICO and money laundering charges in Iowa federal court.
- The ring allegedly stole 100,000 gallons of cooking oil monthly from Midwest restaurants.
- Prosecutors claim proceeds were laundered through shell companies and wired to China.
- Lead defendants include nationals from Canada and the U.S. operating across state lines.
A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Iowa has indicted 13 individuals on charges of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, alleging they orchestrated a sophisticated scheme to steal and resell used cooking oil across the Midwest. The indictment, unsealed on December 9, 2025, accuses the defendants of transporting stolen goods across state lines and laundering millions of dollars in illicit proceeds generated from the biodiesel market.
According to court filings from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, the group targeted restaurants in Iowa, Nebraska, and Missouri to siphon "yellow grease," a waste product that has become a valuable commodity for biofuel production. Prosecutors state that the defendants, operating under the guise of legitimate recycling businesses, utilized trucks equipped with pumps and siphons to drain storage tanks during nighttime hours. The stolen oil was then allegedly aggregated and sold to processing facilities that were unaware of its illicit origins.
The indictment identifies Yi Liang Li, 43, of Ontario, Canada, and Cheng Tang, 45, of Queens, New York, as lead defendants in the conspiracy. Investigators allege that the network moved approximately 100,000 gallons of oil monthly, capitalizing on market prices that have exceeded $3 per gallon. The Department of Justice asserts that the group utilized encrypted communications to coordinate their routes and employed counterfeit documentation to mask the source of the stolen oil.
Financial investigators report that the proceeds from the sales were laundered through a complex web of bank accounts and shell companies. The indictment alleges that a significant portion of the funds was subsequently wired to accounts in China, complicating the financial trail. The FBI and local law enforcement agencies collaborated to dismantle the network, which prosecutors claim exploited regulatory gaps in the waste oil supply chain to generate millions in profit.
Federal Enforcement and Industry Oversight
The application of the RICO statute in this case signifies a strategic shift by federal prosecutors to treat organized commodity theft as a major enterprise crime rather than a series of isolated property offenses. By invoking RICO, authorities can target the organizational structure of the ring and pursue broader asset forfeiture. This case also highlights critical vulnerabilities in the biodiesel supply chain, specifically the lack of standardized tracking for waste oil, which renders the industry susceptible to large-scale theft. As the renewable energy sector expands, this indictment may spur tighter regulatory oversight and the implementation of digital traceability systems to secure the provenance of raw materials. It is important to note that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
