United States of America v. Ronald Dale Koontz, George Macropoulos, Randy L. Nowland, and Cory Taylor Humphrey

Benton, Illinois, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with:

18:371- Conspiracy to Defraud the United States

30:820(c), 820(d), and 18:2- Failure to Conduct a Mine Evacuation

30:820(c), 820(d), and 18:2-Failure to Notify MSHA of an Accident

18:1505-Obstruction of an MSHA Proceeding

18:1519 and 2(b)-Destruction, Altercation, or Concealment of a Record

Ronald Dale Koontz, 69, of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Demitrios George Macropoulos, 38, of Buckeye, Arizona, Randy L. Nowland, 67, of Waltonville, Illinois, and Cory Taylor Humphrey, 37, of Prospect, Kentucky, were charged with conspiring to defraud the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) by concealing the fire and other hazards at the mine and taking steps to interfere with MSHA’s investigation of the fire and administration of safety-related orders in the aftermath of the fire. The Indictment charges the defendants with keeping miners underground and continuing to mine coal for all or portions of three shifts while unsuccessfully fighting a fire. The defendants are charged with failing to evacuate the mine and notify MSHA as required by mandatory safety standards under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act (the Mine Act). Nowland and Humphrey are also charged under the Mine Act with falsification of records required to document mine hazards. Koontz and Macropoulos are charged with obstruction of an MSHA proceeding for entering the mine in violation of an MSHA safety order withdrawing miners from the mine. Koontz is further charged with obstruction for directing another supervisor to delete a record reflecting a telephone call he made. A fifth conspirator and former mine manager, Brandon Timothy Parsons, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud MSHA on Aug. 28, 2025 in a related criminal proceeding filed in August 2025.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.