Apr 21 2023
PETER LARSON IS A CONVICTED FELON WHO SERVED TIME IN A FEDERAL PRISON FOR ILLEGAL FOSSIL TRAFFICKING
All information in the following episode is public information and solely intended to tell the story of Peter Larson.
Peter Larson who is a convicted felon, who served time in a Federal prison for illegal fossil trafficking.
Peter Larson was convicted for stealing the dinosaur ìSueî from Native American land and moving it to private land. The US Attorney led 35 FBI agents and 20 National Guardsmen to recover Sue in a raid on the Black Hills Institute in 1992. The specimen was returned to its rightful owners, the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Peter Lars Larson was born on the 22nd,
March 1952 in Cherry,
Nebraska, USA.
Peter Larson was born to
Neal and Gertrude
Larson. He has four
siblings named Mark,
Neal, Jill, and John.
Peter Larson grew up on his familyís farm near Mission,
South Dakota.
His father, Neal, was a World
War II veteran. Documentary transcripts note that
Pete Larson and his brother Nealís interest in fossils began
at an early age, rock hunting with their father.
Pete Larson is often referred to as ìPeteî and goes by
"PeteLarsonTrex" on social media.
Family feud
Pete Larsonís public feud with his brother Neal Lee Larson is well
documented in media coverage, including in The
Wall Street Journal, The Daily Mail,
and The New York Times.
Following a record $31.8 million sale of ìStan the T.
rexî, from which only NL profited, Peter Larson retained the
intellectual property for Stan as part of a settlement
agreement.
The brothers are renowned as prominent
commercial fossil traders. Neither holds an
advanced degree. They parted ways in late 2012.
Peter Larson continued his work at the Black Hills Institute of
Geological Research, and Neal established Larson
Paleontology Unlimited.
Peter Larson founded BHIGR in 1978. The legal entity was
incorporated on 15 March 1978 as a domestic
business corporation in SD.
BHIGR issued 10,000 private shares at $10 per
share, totalling $100,000 in equity. Legal
proceedings disclosed that Peter Larson owned 60% of the
company, Neal Larson 35%, and Robert Farrar 5%.
However, Neal Larson relinquished his shareholding after the
2020 settlement previously mentioned.
The instituteís 2022 annual report lists Peter Larson as the
president and a director and Robert Farrar as the
registered agent, secretary, treasurer, and a
director. Samuel and Blanche Farrar are also listed
as directors.
Peter Larson's Facebook profile found that he is
friends with a high number of explicit female
models. A snapshot of PLís recently added
Facebook friends show four female models in
bikinis, all of which appear to be fake.
Peter Larson served a reported 18 months in federal prison
following a four-year investigation that began in
1992 into BHIGR and the seizure of Sue.
In 1996,
Peter Larson was convicted of two felonies and two
misdemeanours: carrying currency between the US
and two foreign countries, Japan and Peru; and
illegal fossil-collecting from federal land, and illegally retaining a small fossil.
Peter Larson is a convicted felon, who served time in a Federal prison for illegal fossil trafficking.
On 18 November 1997, he was released from
prison. Notably, Peter Larson was ultimately only fined
$15,000, but BHIGR reportedly suffered almost $1
million in legal expenses.
A documentary entitled "Dinosaur 13" released in
2014 about the case led to calls for then-President
Barack Obama to pardon Peter Larson. However, nothing
further transpired after this public attention.