Two Pittsford men pleaded guilty to transporting stolen goods across state lines after prosecutors said they sent 90,000 pounds of used cooking oil from Western New York to a Pennsylvania refinery. Guodeng Chen and Didi Huang entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci Jr., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
The federal charge of transporting stolen goods in interstate commerce carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the first shipment took place April 8, 2022, when Chen and Huang caused 45,000 pounds of stolen used cooking oil to be transported from the Western District of New York to a refinery in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The men received $29,433.60 for that shipment, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
A second 45,000-pound shipment was sent to the same Erie refinery on April 28, 2022. Prosecutors said Chen and Huang received $30,618 for the second load.
Together, the two shipments generated $60,051.60. As part of their guilty pleas, the defendants admitted they knew there was a high probability that the oil was stolen, according to the federal release.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations, New York State Police and the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General investigated the case.
The agencies’ work was directed by Monroe County Sheriff Todd Baxter, HSI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Patrone, State Police Maj. Kevin Sucher and Transportation Department Inspector General Special Agent-in-Charge Anthony Licari for the Midwestern Region.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan K. McGuire is prosecuting the case.
Huang is scheduled to be sentenced at 3 p.m. Dec. 15, 2026. Chen’s sentencing is set for 11 a.m. Dec. 17, 2026, with both hearings before Geraci.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.