Off-Label Abuse: The Prosecution of Individuals for Pesticide Crimes under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act

When individuals commit pesticide crimes involving significant harm or culpable conduct, they may be prosecuted for criminal violations of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), but we have little knowledge of how individual offenders have been prosecuted historically for such crimes. Using content analysis of 2,728 environmental crime prosecutions resulting from U.S. EPA criminal investigations, 1983 to 2021, we select all cases of individuals prosecuted under FIFRA for our analysis. We find that 100 cases were adjudicated, resulting in 135 years of probation, 75 years of incarceration, and $4.2 million in monetary penalties assessed at sentencing. Of those prosecutions, 62 percent focus on off-label use of pesticides, 36 percent unlawful distribution, 1 percent unlawful disposal, and 1 percent falsification of documents or testing fraud.

We offer recommendations in our conclusions for strengthening the enforcement of pesticide crimes under FIFRA.