Swindlers are targeting out-of-state deer hunters eager to bag trophy bucks in Iowa

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If left unchecked a deer population could double in 3-4 years according to some estimates. Facing growing numbers of interactions between deer and people, some cities are turning to local hunters for help. Brian Powers/The Register

BLOOMFIELD, Ia. — Out-of-state hunters road-trip to Iowa by the thousands each year in search of some of the country’s most abundant white-tailed bucks.

But opportunists are also tracking those big spenders — and one in particular from southern Iowa has made national news again.

On Thursday, a Tipton outfitter accused of leading illegal hunts and ripping off customers was convicted on two counts of felony theft and ongoing criminal conduct, just as this season’s deer hunting drew to a close.

Andrew Wulf, 34, owner of Whitetail Ridge Outfitters, was featured in Reader's Watchdog last January after taking thousands of dollars in deposits for guided hunts that never happened.

Wulf will be sentenced March 2 in Bloomfield, in far southern Iowa, and faces up to 35 years in prison for swindling three out-of-state customers.

His scamming, covered in Field and Stream and several other outdoors-hunting sites, has reignited discussion about whether Iowa needs legislation to better protect hunters from scofflaws in the outfitting industry.

From Alaska to New Mexico to Wyoming, many other states regulate and license outfitters and guides to better ensure professionalism, thwart fraud and help with wildlife management.

States regulate a mix of things such as who can advertise outfitting services and what information should be covered in contracts for services, as well as prohibiting outfitters from guaranteeing a successful harvest.

Brian Clark, who heads licensing and permits for Illinois’s Office of Law Enforcement, said officers there can deny permits to guides whose hunting licenses have been suspended or revoked and strip outfitters of the ability to do business if they have a history of misbehaving.

"We started in 2003 for deer and turkey hunting," Clark said. "The outfitters asked the department to provide validity to their business, and there were situations where people were taking advantage."

But where there are increased regulations, there often are increased costs to those involved: An outfitter license for an in-state resident in Illinois costs $500 and $2,500 for a non-resident.

The idea of introducing rules and cost to outfitters and the guides they hire to lead hunts conjures mixed feelings for some.

"(Regulations) are kind of a double-edged sword,” said Eric Wright, a Cedar County conservation officer who handled numerous complaints by out-of-state hunters and competitors about Wulf.

"Right now, anybody who wants to be an outfitter can be one,” he said. “That can be good and bad. I’ve gone back and forth on it myself."

Sport’s popularity increases need for rules?

Iowa’s conservation officers can suspend outfitters’ and guides’ hunting licenses, effectively prohibiting them from doing business.

They also work through other law enforcement such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce bigger cases in federal courts.

One such case that culminated in 2014 against the owner of Southeast Iowa Outfitters, Brenton Clark, involved law enforcement agencies in five states.

Clark and his wife were accused of giving resident deer tags to out-of-state hunters who paid thousands to hunt trophy deer in Jefferson and Van Buren counties. They did so to cheat the state’s lottery system for coveted out-of-state licenses because demand for those tags far exceeds supply.

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Joe Franz hunted every fall for decades, trying to fulfill a dream of taking a trophy-sized whitetail deer.

Jim Coontz, an avid hunter from Bettendorf, said he doesn’t believe current penalties are enough to discourage bad operators in the expanding outfitting and guide industry.

The increased commercialization of the sport and all the national attention on hunting trophy bucks has increased the need to do more to discourage illegal hunts and fraud.

“We definitely needs some kind of laws, because this has gotten out of hand,” said Coontz, who hunts in Jefferson County. “How much money did all those agencies spend pursuing Clark? He’s back in business already.”

Out-of-state hunters frequently rely on paid outfitters and guides because so much Iowa hunting takes place on unfamiliar private land.

Non-resident hunters are subject to more stringent restrictions than in other Midwestern states such as Illinois and Missouri because they can take part in only one of three whitetail seasons for archery, firearms or muzzleloaders.

However, Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources, which oversees hunting enforcement, does not track law-breaking or license penalties specifically by outfitters and guides.

A top conservation supervisor for the DNR said after the Clark investigation that illegal hunting in Iowa has reached an alarming rate, but no one knows the scale of fraud or illegal hunting perpetrated by outfitters.

"I would say cases have probably increased, but it can take years for them to come to fruition,” said Matt Rush, a conservation officer in Davis County who also worked on the Wulf investigation.

A history of trouble

In court this week, Andrew Wulf’s defense lawyer told a jury that his client’s failure to deliver was the result of recent personal problems that included a drunken driving arrest.

Centerville lawyer James Underwood claimed Wulf was never given the opportunity to deliver refunds to disappointed customers who never received hunts for which they paid thousands in deposits.

The reason? Wulf was behind bars in January 2017.

But Wulf’s illegal hunting activity goes way back, conservation officers say.

Five years ago, when he was 29, the owner of Whitetail Ridge Outfitter pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting his clients to illegally hunt deer in west-central Cedar County.

Conservation officers used aerial surveillance to locate piles of corn, alfalfa and minerals used to lure deer to private hunting ground.

Wulf was guiding hunters from Michigan, Georgia and Wisconsin. He pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and abetting hunting over bait and was fined $195 for each count.

The hunters also were fined.

Last year, Wulf was convicted of third-degree theft in both Scott and Johnson counties and sentenced to 240 days in jail.

And just before Christmas, the 34-year-old’s probation was revoked because he failed to pay for cattle and deer worth nearly $100,000 that he bid on and won from three online auction barns.

Like other outfitters, Wulf promised fully guided hunts that were supposed to include transportation, lodging and food.

But his loosely written contracts did not include specifics, customers said.

“Having them sign a contract was just a scheme to get their money,” Chief Deputy Joshua O’Dell told jurors this week.

Law enforcement officers say Wulf cheated more customers than the three he was convicted of stealing from, but not all of those cheated were willing to return to Iowa to testify.

Some hunters pay in excess of $5,500 for a week of fully guided hunting in southern Iowa.

Rush, the Davis County conservation officer, said the competition for out-of-state licenses is so stiff, some hunters wait three to four years for the opportunity.

Rush and Clark both said Iowa has many first-rate outfitters who don’t cheat or take shortcuts, but hunters need to check references.

“I would never send any money until you can make sure the outfitter can provide the service,” Rush said.

Lee Rood's Reader's Watchdog column helps Iowans get answers and accountability from public officials, the justice system, businesses and nonprofits. Contact her at lrood@dmreg.com, 515-284-8549 on Twitter @leerood or at Facebook.com/readerswatchdog.