American pleads guilty to illegal plutonium imports from Russia

Jacob Miller, 44, of Massachusetts, pleaded guilty to importing and selling plutonium from Russia. This is reported by The New York Times (NYT).

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts, Miller pleaded guilty to charges of illegal trafficking in radioactive materials, sending dangerous substances, possession of child pornography, as well as ammunition and explosives.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 21, 2027. For each of the key charges, Miller faces up to 20 years in prison.

In 2017, the defendant created a home online store Collect the Periodic Table, through which he sold samples of chemical elements. From 2020 to 2025, he imported plutonium-239 from a St. Petersburg seller and managed to mail toxic and hazardous substances to at least 67 customers in the United States, Canada, Japan and Switzerland. The defendant also sold highly toxic thallium. One of his Minnesota buyers was subsequently charged with fatally poisoning his roommate.