(South Bend, IN) - A La Porte man has been sentenced in federal court for business dealings that have led to the death of several people.
According to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, 53-year-old Dennis Zeedyk marketed and sold an ethanol extract meant for human consumption that actually contained high levels of methanol.
Zeedyk is the founder and CEO of Glycerin Traders in Stillwell, a company that processes and sells glycerin, methanol, and other biofuel products. According to their website, Glycerin Traders also operates in Ohio and Iowa.
Between 2016 and 2018, authorities say Zeedyk sold a particular ethanol product to over 1,200 customers across the country via Amazon, eBay, and an online website. Marketing it as a pure, non-denatured, food-grade grain ethanol distilled from 100% corn, Zeedyk’s company advertised the “Ethanol Extraction” as a household product with various uses: as a solvent to extract essential oils from cannabis, herbs, and other plants; for creating medicinal tinctures and perfumes; for baking in the kitchen; and as an all-natural cleaning product, among other uses. The product was labeled as 95% ethanol and 5% purified water.
In reality, authorities say the source material for the product came from the remnants of denatured industrial alcohol shipments from Lake Michigan barges. Prosecutors claim that Zeedyk illegally distilled the alcohol through an apparatus not registered with the federal government. The final product allegedly contained toxic levels— 30% to 45% — of methanol. When ingested, methanol can cause symptoms such as difficult breathing, blurred vision, dizziness, headaches, seizures, abdominal pain, vomiting, blindness, and even death.
In a statement, prosecutors likened Zeedyk to a “modern-day snake oil salesmen,” claiming he used “lies to entice consumers to purchase and to use products that are dangerous.” At least three people died from drinking it, and several others suffered severe physical injuries. After the first reported death, Glycerin Traders issued a recall, but not all customers responded. Some batches of the product are still unaccounted for.
Multiple federal agencies got involved, including the ATF, FBI, USDA, EPA, and the IRS. Anthony Gledhill, Assistant Administrator for Field Operations, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) said, “This was an egregious, and thankfully, rare crime involving an illegal still and fraudulent product misrepresentations that resulted in the loss of life because of a product that should have never entered the domestic marketplace.”
After pleading guilty in South Bend’s U.S. District Court to mail fraud and tax fraud by a distiller, Zeedyk was sentenced to 4 years in prison, 1 year of supervised release, and was ordered to pay restitution of over $43,000 to victims. He also faces a fine of $76,500.
