FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2006
(Columbia, SC) For the second time in 15 months, a Luray timber cutter is in trouble with the law. Forestry Commission agents charged John Sanders, Jr., 48, with fraud in two separate low-country timber transactions.
According to agents, Sanders purchased cutting rights to tracts of timber in Hampton and Jasper County. In both cases, he agreed to cut the wood, sell it to a mill, and pay the landowners based on mill receipts.
Mill records show that Sanders was paid for the timber, but agents say he pocketed the entire amount and never settled up with the landowners. In the Hampton County case, the landowner’s share was almost $1500; in the Jasper case, the landowner lost $8000.
Sanders was booked into the Hampton County Detention Center. If convicted on both charges he could face up to 15 years in prison.
Sanders’ criminal record includes several previous timber transaction crimes. At the time of Friday’s arrest, he was on probation from a timber fraud charge brought by Forestry Commission agents in 2005.
Victims of timber theft or timber fraud are asked to contact Forestry Commission law enforcement, 803-896-8820.
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Legal Reference:
SC Code 16-13-230, Breach of trust w/fraudulent intent
THIS RELEASE REPORTS AN ARREST. ALL SUBJECTS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED INNOCENT UNLESS PROVEN OTHERWISE IN A COURT OF LAW.