A man holds up cases of jewelry and carvings made from dinosaur bones that were allegedly stolen from federal land.

An Ashland man accused of using his company to export illegally obtained dinosaur bones from the state and sell them to China as part of a criminal conspiracy settled his case last week in a deal with federal prosecutors.

Jordan Willing, 41, previously pleaded not guilty to two counts of violating the U.S. Archeological Resources Protection Act and one count each of conspiracy to defraud the U.S., theft of U.S. property, attempted smuggling of goods from the U.S. and providing false export information.

The charges were in connection to allegations that Willing used Ashland-based JMW Sales with his father, Steven Willing, 67, of Los Angeles, to purchase for $1.4 million approximately 150,000 pounds of dinosaur bones from a couple, Vint and Donna Wade, of Moab, Utah, from March 2018 until at least March 2023, according to court filings.

Jordan Willing’s case had been heading for trial in January 2025 in Salt Lake City, despite his attempt to have his trial severed from his co-defendants. 

The case ground to a halt on June 17, when U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer granted prosecutors permission to dismiss it.

The dismissal does not impact Steven Willing or the Wades, who have pleaded not guilty, prosecutors said.

Attempts to reach Jordan Willing were unsuccessful, but his attorney, Rachel Cannon, offered a statement.

“Mr. Willing has steadfastly denied all wrongdoing and is pleased that the DOJ is dismissing all charges filed against him,” Cannon wrote. “This civil settlement allows Mr. Willing to put this matter behind him without the time, expense and distraction of protracted litigation.”

Prosecutors also returned Jordan Willing’s passports to him since he is no longer under pretrial supervision.

Felicia Martinez, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah, said in an email Monday that prosecutors had no comment on the settlement because the larger case is ongoing.

On Aug., 19, 2024, the Department of Justice dismissed all criminal charges against Jordan Willing with prejudice, and dismissed the civil forfeiture suit it had brought against him. DOJ also agreed to refund the $1 million that Jordan Willing had paid pursuant to the civil settlement. DOJ agreed to dismiss all criminal and civil charges because of “the culmination of errors in this case” including “[m]isidentification of confidential informants, misrepresentations, and erroneous inferences and conclusions derived therefrom.”