La Porte man sentenced to 48 months in prison

Date: Nov. 6, 2024

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SOUTH BEND - An Indiana man who owns Glycerin Traders marketed and sold an "Ethanol Extraction" product as a pure food-grade product, when in fact, the product contained high levels of methanol leading to multiple deaths and severe physical injuries for those who consumed the product.

Dennis R. Zeedyk of La Porte, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to mail fraud and tax fraud by a distiller, announced United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson.

Zeedyk was sentenced to 48 months in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution to the victims of the offense in a total amount of $43,727.93. Zeedyk was also ordered to pay a fine of $76,500.

"Defendant Zeedyk is a modern-day snake oil salesman, who hawked his product to unwitting consumers as being a "pure", food-safe and "safe for human consumption" ethanol product when, in fact, his product contained high levels of deadly methanol," said United States Attorney Clifford D. Johnson. "As this prosecution shows, the United States government, through its various law enforcement agencies, will use its power to protect the consuming public from criminal businessmen, like Zeedyk, who use lies to entice consumers to purchase and to use products that are dangerous."

Anthony Gledhill, Assistant Administrator for Field Operations, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) said, "This was an egregious, and thankfully, rare crime involving an illegal still and fraudulent product misrepresentations that resulted in the loss of life because of a product that should have never entered the domestic marketplace. TTB takes our responsibility for maintaining a reliable and safe alcohol marketplace seriously, and we greatly appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana and our local, state, and federal partners."

According to documents in the case, Zeedyk owns a business called Glycerin Traders that processes and trades glycerin, methanol, and other biofuel products. From October 2016 through May 2018, Zeedyk manufactured and sold a product called "Ethanol Extraction." Zeedyk marketed the Ethanol Extraction product as pure, non-denatured, food-grade grain ethanol distilled from 100% corn. Zeedyk advertised the product as a solvent to extract essential oils from cannabis, herbs, and other plants; for creating medicinal tinctures and perfumes; for baking in the kitchen; and as an all-natural cleaning product, among many other uses. The product was labeled as 95% ethanol and 5% purified water. Zeedyk sold Ethanol Extraction through Amazon, eBay, and an online website to customers in states throughout the country.

Zeedyk's representations about the product were false. In actuality, the source material for the Ethanol Extraction product came from the remnants of denatured industrial alcohol shipments from Lake Michigan barges. Zeedyk then illegally distilled the alcohol through a distilling apparatus not registered with the federal government. The final product that Zeedyk sold to customers contained toxic high levels of methanol-approximately 30% to 45% methanol. When ingested, methanol can cause a wide variety of symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, blurred vision, dizziness, headaches, seizures, abdominal pain, vomiting, blindness, and even death.

From October 2016 to May 2018, more than 1,200 customers bought Ethanol Extraction. Zeedyk stopped selling the product in May 2018 after learning that a customer had died from drinking it. Attempts were made to distribute recall notices, but not all customers responded to the recall, and there are unaccounted containers of Ethanol Extraction. At least three customers have died from ingesting the product, and several others suffered severe physical injuries.

"Far from a harmless misrepresentation, this defendant's lies led to the deaths of three innocent people and caused health problems for many others. This sentence strongly demonstrates that all actions have consequences and should serve as a deterrent to others to reconsider their choices," said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. "The FBI will continue to collaborate with our partners to ensure those who engage in such deceptive actions are held accountable, reinforcing our shared commitment to protect the public."

"This case highlights the power of collaboration between IRS Criminal Investigation and our law enforcement partners to protect the public from individuals who jeopardize safety and trust for financial gain," said Kareem Carter, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, Washington, D.C. Field Office. "IRS Criminal Investigation is committed to holding accountable those who put profit over the public's safety ensuring they face the consequences of their actions."

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the Alcohol & Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Criminal Investigation Division, the Indiana State Department of Health, and the Hadley Police Department (Massachusetts). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Luke N. Reilander, Joel Gabrielse, and Philip C. Benson.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a more than a 90 percent federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 12 attaché posts abroad.