Officials with the Iowa Dept. of Natural Resources say a Missouri man was found guilty by a jury of illegal deer hunting in southwest Iowa’s Taylor County. 61-year old Michael K. Kahnert, of Branson West, Mo., was found guilty of six counts of fraudulently obtaining resident hunting, deer and turkey licenses, three counts of not having valid non-resident hunting and deer licenses, one count of taking/hunting deer out of season, one count of illegal taking of an antlered whitetail deer, and two counts of illegal taking of antlerless whitetail deer.

He was sentenced on June 18th. Kahnert was ordered to forfeit the antlers and pay more than $11,400 in fines, court costs and liquidated damages. Kahnert has been suspended from hunting or obtaining any licenses for three years.

The state of Iowa is a member of the Wildlife Violator Compact, which is an agreement between participating states that prohibits a person whose hunting or fishing privileges are suspended in one state from participating in those activities in another state, including Missouri.

Conservation Officer Andrea Bevington has been actively investigating residency fraud cases like this since 2009. Unfortunately, this type of case is not unique in her territory. Bevington said “Iowa is known for trophy whitetail deer attracting people from across the United States and other countries. Unfortunately, these trophies sometimes draw individuals who fraudulently obtain resident licenses and rob the opportunity for a deer of a lifetime from a lawful hunter.”

Residency laws were changed in 2009 to identify a growing problem in Iowa of non-residents falsifying records to illegally obtain resident licenses.