Massachusetts man pleads guilty to importing Russian plutonium and selling it to 67 customers

Mixed · 2Jacob D. Miller, 44, of Massachusetts pleaded guilty to federal charges in a case involving the illegal import and sale of radioactive material from Russia, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts. 1 2 Mixed · 2The five counts are importing nuclear material without lawful authority, being a felon in possession of ammunition, being a felon in possession of explosive materials, mailing hazardous materials, and possession of child pornography. 2 1 Left · 1NBC News reports the pleas were filed Thursday under an agreement with the U.S. Attorney's Office, and that Miller's lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 1

Mixed · 2Prosecutors say Miller ran a business called Collect The Periodic Table (CTPT) that sold samples of chemical elements, including radioactive plutonium and toxic thallium, from a residence in South Hadley, and also through the online third-party retailer Bonanza. 2 1 Mixed · 2According to prosecutors, Miller imported plutonium from Russia, had it mailed to the Massachusetts residence, and between Dec. 30, 2020, and March 31, 2025, sold it to about 67 customers in the U.S. and abroad, shipping it by U.S. mail even though it is a hazardous substance barred from the mail. 2 1 Right · 1Fox News adds that, between Oct. 12, 2017, and April 5, 2025, Miller sold thallium to about 71 customers, also by mail. 2

Right · 1Miller was arrested on April 9, 2025, indicted by a grand jury on April 17, and has remained in federal custody since the arrest. 2 Mixed · 2An April 2025 search of the residence turned up six firearms, explosive powder and ammunition, which prosecutors say were unlawful because of Miller's felony record, and child sexual abuse material on a laptop and cellphone, which Fox reports had been opened as recently as the day before the search warrant. 2 1 Right · 1Miller has prior convictions from Feb. 9, 2004, in Massachusetts state court for possessing child pornography and an explosive device; Fox reports sentences of seven years' probation in the first case and 2½ years in jail plus 10 years' probation in the second. 2

Left · 1NBC adds that the U.S. Attorney's Office described a long-standing 'obsession with explosives, dangerous chemicals and radioactive substances dating back to at least 2002', when a search found an apparent rocket launcher, a pipe bomb and video of improvised explosive devices being set off, and that Massachusetts had warned Miller after the alleged sale of depleted uranium on eBay. 1 Mixed · 2Sentencing, before U.S. District Judge Mark G. Mastroianni, is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2027; NBC says Miller faces 46 years or more in prison, though it is unclear whether sentences would run concurrently, which could reduce that. 1 2