York County veterinarian pleads guilty to defrauding the USDA by submitting false bovine testing documentation - FOX43.com

Dr. Donald Yorlets, 66, admitted that he conspired with two unnamed exporters to avoid disease testing requirements by falsely representing he tested every cow.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A 66-year-old New Oxford veterinarian has pleaded guilty in U.S. Middle District Court to defrauding the U.S. Department of Agriculture out of more than $38,000 in lab expenses by submitting false blood samples for bovine disease and issuing false Certificates of Veterinary Inspection for the animals, according to U.S. Attorney David J. Freed.

Dr. Donald Yorlets, 66, committed the acts of fraud between 2016 and 2019, Freed said. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer P. Wilson.

Yorlets has been a Pennsylvania licensed veterinarian since 1981, according to Freed.

Freed said federal law requires that each cow transported in interstate or international commerce be first tested for various bovine diseases, such as Bovine Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Bovine Leucosis and Bovine Viral Diarrhea. 

Bovine Tuberculosis and Brucellosis are communicable diseases that can be transmitted to humans under certain circumstances, according to Freed. 

Bovine Tuberculosis is screened for by what is known as a Caudal Fold skin test. The test must be administered by a USDA accredited veterinarian and involves the injection of a tuberculin substance under the skin and checking it for a reaction 72 hours later, Freed said.

Testing for Brucellosis, Bovine Leucosis and Bovine Viral Diarrhea requires the drawing of blood and the submission of samples to an accredited laboratory for analysis, according to Freed.

Animals transported in international commerce can only be exported with an International Certificate of Veterinarian Inspection, Freed said. To lawfully issue an ICVI, a USDA accredited veterinarian must verify that each animal has been physically examined, tested for disease, vaccinated and medically treated as required by the USDA prior to shipment.

During the guilty plea hearing, Freed said, Yorlets admitted that he conspired with two unnamed exporters to avoid the disease testing requirements by falsely representing he tested every cow for Bovine Tuberculosis when, in fact, he did not. 

Yorlets also admitted he submitted hundreds of non-authentic, bovine blood samples to a PA Department of Agriculture testing laboratory in Harrisburg for testing and by issuing false Certificates of Veterinary Inspection for the untested animals, according to Freed. The false blood test results and Certificates enabled the sellers to quickly export hundreds of untested cows to Mexico, Canada, Qatar, and Puerto Rico.

The investigation began in 2017 when the Pennsylvania Veterinary Laboratory in Harrisburg became suspicious that dozens of blood specimens submitted by Yorlets were not authentic, Freed said. To confirm their suspicions, the PVL sent 804 blood samples submitted by Yorlets to the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa for Antibody Profile testing.

Each animal has a unique Antibody Profile in its blood, Freed said. If all of the Yorlets’ blood specimens were genuine, Antibody Profile testing should have shown that all 804 blood samples had a unique Antibody Profile.

However, the NVSL’s testing only found 70 unique Antibody Profiles in the 804 samples, Freed said. The results confirmed that Yorlets’ repeatedly submitted the same blood samples for different animals and issued false Certificates of Veterinary Inspection for hundreds of cows that were never tested. 

This allowed the sellers to export the animals quickly and reduce expenses incurred in keeping the animals on domestic feeder lots, Freed said.

Yorlets’ stipulated the loss sustained by the USDA for the out of pocket laboratory expenses was $38,005, and has agreed to make full restitution in that amount, according to Freed. 

No date has been scheduled for Yorlets’ sentencing pending preparation of a pre-sentence report.

The case was investigated by the USDA’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security. Assistant United States Attorney Kim Douglas Daniel is prosecuting the case.

The maximum penalty for this offense is five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.