Guides in Florida passed off unsuspecting hunters as wild Osceolas, officials say

A group of Florida hunting guides and a taxidermist in Hardee and Charlotte County were charged Wednesday with a handful of felonies for selling cage-bred turkey hunts to customers who thought they were hunting wild Osceola turkeys. The farmed birds were bred to resemble Osceolas, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission used forensic testing and expert analysis to uncover the scam.

Razzor Ranch Blanket Hunting Reserve Operator Larry Collins allegedly “advertised, promoted and scheduled hunts for wild Osceolas,” accepted money for the hunts and then teamed up with guides David Mills and Paul Beckham to take the hunters to locations in Hardee and Charlotte counties to shoot the cage-bred birds, a FWC press release says. Mills also ran a game farm in Charlotte County where the specially bred birds were hatched and raised.

A fourth suspect, Vernon Flowers, did all the taxidermy work for the fake hunts in Osceola through his company, Skins and scales taxidermyHe paid Collins 10 percent back on the cash value of the taxidermy work, because he had referred customers to him.

According to an affidavit obtained by Outdoor livingThe guides and taxidermist defrauded 10 customers out of a total of $25,362 from March 2020 through March 2022. The Razzor Ranch has been the subject of multiple FWC investigations over licensing issues dating back to 2019. But on March 10, 2021, one of the defrauded hunters complained to the FWC after he brought what he thought was a wild Osceola to his own taxidermist, instead of Flowers. His taxidermist quickly realized that the carcass was much fatter than that of a standard wild bird, and that the feathers in the fan did not match the colors of an Osceola turkey. The legs were also shorter and the feet were “large and deformed like a domesticated breed.”

Researchers sent the turkey in question to the FWC DNA lab in Gainesville, where a geneticist performed tests to determine whether the bird was genetically more similar to a domestic turkey and a Bronze turkey (another type of domestic turkey) than to an Osceola. Those results matched Collins’ financial records, which showed evidence of a purchase from Allison Farms, which breeds, hatches and raises non-wild “hybrid Osceola turkeys.”

Mills’s game farm, known as “Jurassic Ranch,” was the focus of multiple inspections in 2021. (Though Mills owned the property, Collins had paid for the permit applications for the game bird operation, and his address was listed as the business’s shipping address.) A 2021 renewal of the game bird operation’s permit listed only 20 turkeys on the property. But when an FWC inspector showed up in September — months after Mills and Collins had already been ticketed for illegally possessing a zebra on the property — she saw an estimated 200 turkeys instead.

The inspector’s body camera recorded a conversation with Collins. Referring to his clients, he said, “When they go hunting, they might hunt for two and a half days and not catch a bird … then they go for the ‘other bird’ … Three thousand at a time … you’re going to make sure they catch a bird.”

According to the affidavit, Razzor Ranch charged between $1,995 and $2,995 for three levels of hunts in Osceola. (One of the victims paid in “bartered dental work.”) During this exchange, Collins also lied to the investigator about not yet releasing birds at Razzor Ranch.

A former guide, who was not involved in the investigation, told investigators that he disagreed with the release of turkeys and pigs at Razzor Ranch. “He recalled a specific incident at Razzor Ranch when he was ordered to take a dog carrier containing a live turkey to the rear of the Razzor Ranch property and release it … within the high fence area,” the affidavit said. “The canned turkey hunts were one of the reasons he left his job at Razzor Ranch … he refused to serve as a turkey guide and felt it was morally reprehensible.”

That guide primarily guided alligator and deer hunting clients; Razzor Ranch also sells guided “hunts” for everything from elk to blackbucks. The ranch’s website now admits that they are introducing fence-bred birds on the reservation and does not specifically mention Osceolas, only “Florida turkey hunting.” But at the time of the investigation, the website advertised hunts on Osceolas, along with extensive information about what makes Osceolas such a special crop for hunters, according to screenshots included with the affidavit. Investigators allege that Collins and the other defendants changed the language on the website when they realized they were under investigation.

“Turkey’s [sic] are one of the most sought after game birds in Florida,” the website now states. “We are a licensed game reserve and may release captive bred game birds to restock the area for the season. These birds can be identified by their leg or wing band. Not all of our hunts are on our reserve and other turkeys [sic] Hunting is permitted there upon request.”

Osceola turkeys are native to the Florida peninsula and have darker wings than eastern turkeys, Florida’s other wild turkey species. This darker appearance is due to differences in the white banding on the wing feathers.

FWC investigators Camille Soverel and Erika Zimmerman led the investigation. The charges are as follows:

• Larry Collins, 58, Punta Gorda: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud, cheating, unauthorized use of a two-way communication device
• David Mills, 57, Arcadia: Organised fraud, conspiracy to commit organised fraud
• Paul Beckham, 49, Punta Gorda: Organised fraud, conspiracy to commit organised fraud, cheating, unlawful use of a two-way communication device
• Vernon Flowers, 71, Naples: Organized fraud, conspiracy to commit organized fraud

According to Florida StatuteCommitting organized fraud to obtain property valued between $20,000 and $50,000 is a second-degree felony and punishable up to 15 years in prison.

read more: Wade Lemon, the Utah Outfitter who made Donald Trump Jr. infamous as a guide, will serve prison sentence for organizing ‘canned’ cougar hunts

According to the press release, FWC is investigating other instances of this scam in the state.

“This fraudulent scheme not only deceived hunters, but also exploited a beloved species of Florida wildlife,” Bowlin said in the release. “We want public, private and tribal landowners to know that we are working hard to ensure that captive-bred, non-wild turkeys are not released near their lands. Hunters can be assured that the opportunity to hunt a wild Osceola turkey will continue, and that legitimate outfitters will not face competition from unethical and fraudulent turkey guide services or outfitters.”

Meanwhile, the Razzor Ranch website still promises, in flashy letters: “You will see birds on our hunt!”