The South Carolina Forestry Commission’s law enforcement officers arrested and charged a North Carolina man with breach of trust in a timber deal gone bad.
Irby Anthony Fields, 56, of Lumberton, NC, is accused of holding back from SC land owners payment on 31 loads of a 80-plus-load timber harvesting job.
SCFC Law Enforcement Chief David West says the victims in this particular case were a couple living in Horry County with forestland Dillon County.
The value of the timber is estimated between $35,000.00 and $40,000.00, making it a felony, according to Chief West.
West says there may be more landowners with complaints against Mr. Fields across South Carolina.
Additional charges against Mr. Fields include failure to provide scale tickets to the property owner within 45 days and illegal dumping of trash.
Mr. Fields is out on bond, pending trial.
Foresters with the South Carolina Forestry Commission urge landowners to have a forester from a private consulting firm or from the Commission assess their land before selling timber. Tips for landowners and lists of consultants can be obtained by calling your local Forestry Commission office or by visiting www.tree.sc.gov.
More than 90 percent of the forestland in South Carolina is privately owned. Forest-related industries comprise the number-one economic manufacturing sector of our state’s economy in terms of the number of jobs provided and the salary levels paid. Forest industry has a $17.4 billion impact on the SC economy each year.
The South Carolina Forestry Commission will aggressively enforce the state’s timber laws to protect the state’s forest resource and those who depend on it for their livelihoods.