Rochester, N.Y. — A grand jury has indicted six men on federal charges for an alleged cooking oil theft operation.
Prosecutors said Guodeng Chen, Didi Huang and Fangfang Yan, all of Pittsford, teamed with Ruimao Yang, Yan Han and Wen Xiao Zhang, all of New York City, for the scheme.
According to a federal complaint, the suspects conspired to steal used cooking oil from The Distillery, Osaka Sushi and the Asian Food Mart in Henrietta.
Prosecutors said they intended to resell the oil as biodiesel fuel, which can be worth $4-5 per gallon.
BACKGROUND: Six people accused of stealing used cooking oil from restaurants in Henrietta
Yang, Han and Zhang drove trucks to restaurants, with Zhang stealing the oil from collection tanks outside the restaurants, according to prosecutors, before delivering the stolen oil to Chen, Huang and Yan at a warehouse.
Prosecutors said Han worked at the warehouse and helped collect and store the stolen oil, which Chen, Huang and Yan then sold to a broker to be transported to a refinery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
They allegedly sent two 45,000-pound shipments of the oil in April 2022, receiving more than $5,000 each time.
The six suspects are all charged with conspiracy to transport and sell stolen goods in interstate commerce, with a maximum of five years in prison.
Chen, Huang and Yan are also charged with transportation and sale of stolen goods in interstate commerce, with a maximum of 10 years in prison.