A New Mexico outfitter who admitted to cheating hunters, forging licenses and evading state taxes was recently slapped with some of the stiffest penalties ever imposed in a hunting-related case.

Adrian Romero, 35, of Grants, NM, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for poaching and wildlife-related fraud.

District Court Judge Camille Olguin also sentenced Romero to five years probation following his jail term, and ordered him to pay almost $200,000 in restitution to 28 hunters whom he and his wife, Henrietta Romero, swindled in their illegal hunting and outfitting operation from 2002 to 2004. The Romeros pleaded guilty in October 2006 to a combined 10 felony charges, including racketeering, forgery, tax evasion and embezzlement.

Henrietta Romero, 33, was sentenced last week to five years probation as part of a plea agreement.

The Romeros were indicted in January 2006 on 66 felony charges related to the operation of their business, Non-Typical Outfitters. They were accused of forging hunting licenses and hunters' signatures, arranging and conducting illegal hunts, and failing to report state gross receipts amounting to $244,000, on which substantial state taxes were evaded.

The plea agreements require the Romeos to pay thousands of dollars in restitution to all fraud victims listed in the indictments, and to reimburse the state for all back taxes. Henrietta Romero also agreed to never again act as a hunting guide, outfitter or landowner agent, and to give up her hunting and fishing privileges for 15 years in New Mexico and the other 23 states that are members of the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact.

Alfredo Montoya, Chairman of the New Mexico Game Commission, said harsh sentences and significant civil penalties are needed to deter people seeking to profit by stealing New Mexico’s wildlife. A new statue recently signed into law allows civil penalties up to $10,000 for poachers convicted of taking “trophy” wildlife.

“Maybe jail time and heavy fines will get the message across to people who are essentially stealing some of our most prized resources,” Montoya said. “Our trophy wildlife means a lot to our legitimate hunters and outfitters, and it has a significant impact on our rural economies.”