Pennsylvania's attorney general has sued an Idaho man and his company, accusing them of mailing Pennsylvania residents and businesses phony spotted lanternfly permits dressed up to look like official state paperwork. Kevin Wardell and his business, Diverse Solutions, LLC, allegedly solicited and sold fraudulent permits and training under the name “Spotted Lanternfly Commission,” a name with no connection to any real Pennsylvania agency.
Attorney General Dave Sunday's office filed the lawsuit in the Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas, according to WPXI. As reported by pennwatch.org, the complaint alleges the mailed solicitations included deceptive logos and terminology designed to appear as if they were from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
The letters allegedly went further than just looking official. Per the same account, they threatened civil and criminal penalties if recipients didn't immediately comply, while simultaneously offering to sell the very permits and training supposedly required to avoid punishment.
What the Lawsuit Is Asking For
The lawsuit seeks to ban Wardell and Diverse Solutions from doing business in Pennsylvania altogether. It also asks the court to order restitution for everyone who paid for the fraudulent permits or training, and it pursues civil penalties against the pair, the pennwatch.org report notes.
Sunday said Pennsylvania is working hard to stop the spread of invasive species like the spotted lanternfly, and that scammers peddling fraudulent training and fake permits do nothing to help protect the state's crops, according to WPXI. A permit is required for businesses, agencies and organizations working within the quarantine area when they move regulated articles, and the real version costs nothing.
Free Permits Exist — No Middleman Required
Legitimate spotted lanternfly training and permits are available at no cost directly through the Department of Agriculture and Penn State Extension, according to pennwatch.org. The distinction matters because Pennsylvania's guidance indicates a permit is required for businesses, agencies and organizations — both agricultural and non-agricultural — that move regulated articles within the quarantine area, per the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The invasive insect at the center of the alleged scam has become a familiar, unwelcome sight across the state. Spotted lanternflies were first found in Pennsylvania in 2014 in Berks County, and the pest has since spread to 56 of the state's 67 counties, according to pennlive.com. WPXI notes one was spotted in Chester, Pennsylvania, on August 19.
Why the Bugs Are Still a Big Deal
Spotted lanternfly is currently under quarantine in most Pennsylvania counties, according to extension.psu.edu. The Penn State Extension guide explains that the pest feeds voraciously on many economically important crops, including grapevines, hops, ornamental landscape plants and numerous tree species — the kind of damage the permit system is meant to help prevent.
The insect's life cycle runs on a predictable annual calendar: eggs are laid in fall, from September to December, and hatch in spring, from late April to June. Nymphs typically grow larger and redder through July before reaching the adult stage by August, the outlet reports, which means the swarms Pennsylvanians see each late summer are the tail end of a cycle that's already been building for months.
