A Nampa, Idaho man was indicted in federal court on four counts of felony Lacey Act violations on Friday the U.S. Department of Justice announced in a press release.

According to the release, 51-year-old Paul Silvas of Idaho violated the act by “illegally guiding, filing false state of Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) hunt records in order to conceal the illegal take of brown bears and to conceal illegally guided hunts, along with transporting illegally taken game across state lines,” U.SS. Attorney Bryan Schroder wrote.

According to the indictment, Silvas guided fellow Idahoans without appropriate permits in the Noatak National Reserve. According to the law, non-resident hunters need to be guided by a licensed big game guide and have the appropriate ADF&G-issued big game tags. Silvas is not a licensed guide and his out-of-state clients did not possess the tags. The incidences occurred on September 5th and September 12th of 2014 and September 25th of 2013.

The National Park Service (NPS) and the Alaska Wildlife Troopers (AWT) conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case, the Justice Department revealed.

If convicted, Silvas can be sentenced to five years in prison and a quarter-million dollar fine on each of the four counts.

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