By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – A joint effort between Illinois and Indiana wildlife authorities has uncovered more than 250 cases of hunting license fraud from 2015 to 2016, which resulted in thousands of dollars in fines.
Dubbed Operation Double Dip, officers from the Indiana Conservation Office and the Illinois Conservation Police uncovered evidence of residents from both states claiming dual residency.
Ed Cross, spokesman at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, said hunters were trying to take advantage of residential pricing.
“Basically, what we were seeing, some residents would try to claim resident in two states,” he said. “They would try to claim residency in either state to purchase fishing or hunting permits at a resident’s price instead of a non-resident’s price. Obviously, a resident’s price is cheaper than a non-resident’s price.”
So far, over $85,000 in fines and restitution have been leveled against those found to have committed fraud.
Cross explained that over the last 15 years his state has seen an increase in this type of illegal activity when the price of hunting and fishing licenses go up.
Cross would not provide specific numbers regarding whether these cases and instances of fraud have increased over the three years since the last investigation, citing an unwillingness to compromise an ongoing investigation.
However, according to a published report by WISH-TV, the Illinois Attorney General’s office and the Sangamon County State’s Attorney in Indiana have already tried 211 instances of permit/license fraud.
Cross said credit should go to wildlife officers who moved to put a stop to the fraud.
“We know that in Illinois we have really big deer running around and very big bucks,” he said. “These guys want to come to Illinois and hunt, but they don’t want to pay the nonresident fees. So they try to find a way to scam the system. A lot of credit goes out to our conservation police for tracking this and creating great cases. We have a 100 percent conviction rate over the last year with the Operation Double Dip.”
It is illegal in both Indiana and Illinois to claim residency in more than one state in order to purchase hunting or fishing licenses at the resident rate.
