DES MOINES, Iowa — Roughly a dozen people, including four from Des Moines, have been charged in federal court in connection to an alleged cooking-oil theft ring that spanned multiple states.
The United States Attorney’s Office Southern District of Iowa announced Thursday that a federal grand jury had returned a nine-count indictment against 13 people accused of taking part in a cooking-oil theft ring.
According to the attorney’s office, the individuals stole used cooking oil from restaurants located in Iowa, Tennessee, Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Alabama, Illinois, Nebraska, Missouri, and Kentucky. The attorney’s office said the defendants transported the stolen oil to various warehouses across the country, with two located in Nevada and Ankeny, Iowa, and then sold the used oil and laundered the proceeds…