Multiple people charged for interstate transportation of stolen cooking oil to be converted to biodiesel
A federal grand jury in Portland returned a six-count indictment on September 24, 2020, charging Ariwite and Adams with conspiracy and theft of funds from a Tribal organization. Prosecutors said the case involved interstate transportation of stolen cooking oil that was intended to be converted into biodiesel.
In a separate indictment, Ariwite was also charged with one additional count, according to the case summary provided.
For drivers, this matters because used cooking oil has become a valuable commodity in the fuel supply chain. As more waste products are routed into alternative fuels like biodiesel, theft and fraud risks can follow the money—showing up as tighter controls at pickup sites, more paperwork, and closer scrutiny of how loads are sourced and documented.
The broader context is that “waste” streams are increasingly being treated as feedstock for transportation and infrastructure. In a separate example of that trend, Ergo Eco Solutions, a Duncan, B.C.-based company, is converting organic food waste into materials aimed at building safer, cleaner roads as part of an effort to reduce reliance on petroleum-based products in infrastructure.
- What happened: A Portland federal grand jury returned indictments tied to stolen cooking oil and related charges.
- Why it matters on the road: Higher-value waste products can mean more enforcement attention and more chain-of-custody expectations at docks and collection points.
- Bigger picture: Food waste and byproducts are increasingly being redirected into biodiesel and road-building materials, changing how these materials move through trucking networks.