HELENA, Mont. (AP) — An 81-year-old Montana man faces sentencing in federal court Monday in Great Falls for illegally using tissue and testicles from large sheep hunted in Central Asia and the U.S. to illegally create hybrid sheep for captive trophy hunting in Texas and Minnesota.
Prosecutors are not seeking prison time for Arthur “Jack” Schubarth of Vaughn, Montana, according to court records. He is asking for a one-year probationary sentence for violating the federal wildlife trafficking laws. The maximum punishment for the two Lacey Act violations is five years in prison. The fine can be up to $250,000 or twice the defendant's financial gain.
In his request for the probationary sentence, Schubarth's attorney said cloning the giant Marco Polo sheep hunted in Kyrgyzstan has ruined his client's “life, reputation and family.”
However, the sentencing memorandum also congratulates Schubarth for successfully cloning the endangered sheep, which he named Montana Mountain King. The animal has been confiscated by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
“Jack did something no one else could, or has ever done,” the memo said. “On a ranch, in a barn in Montana, he created Montana Mountain King. MMK is an extraordinary animal, born of science, and from a man who, if he could re-write history, would have left the challenge of cloning a Marco Polo only to the imagination of Michael Crichton,” who is the author of the science fiction novel Jurassic Park.
Schubarth owns Sun River Enterprises LLC, a 215-acre (87-hectare) alternative livestock ranch, which buys, sells and breeds “alternative livestock” such as mountain sheep, mountain goats and ungulates, primarily for private hunting preserves, where people shoot captive trophy game animals for a fee, prosecutors said. He had been in the game farm business since 1987, Schubarth said.
Schubarth pleaded guilty in March to charges that he and five other people conspired to use tissue from a Marco Polo sheep illegally brought into the U.S. to clone that animal and then use the clone and its descendants to create a larger, hybrid species of sheep that would be more valuable for captive hunting operations.
Marco Polo sheep are the largest in the world, can weigh 300 pounds (136 kilograms) and have curled horns up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, court records said.
Schubarth sold semen from MMK along with hybrid sheep to three people in Texas, while a Minnesota resident brought 74 sheep to Schubarth’s ranch for them to be inseminated at various times during the conspiracy, court records said. Schubarth sold one direct offspring from MMK for $10,000 and other sheep with lesser MMK genetics for smaller amounts.
In October 2019, court records said, Schubarth paid a hunting guide $400 for the testicles of a trophy-sized Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep that had been harvested in Montana and then extracted and sold the semen, court records said.
Sheep breeds that are not allowed in Montana were brought into the state as part of the conspiracy, including 43 sheep from Texas, prosecutors said.
The five co-conspirators were not named in court records, but Schubarth's plea agreement requires him to cooperate fully with prosecutors and testify if called to do so. The case is still being investigated, Montana wildlife officials said.
Schubarth, in a letter attached to the sentencing memo, said he becomes extremely passionate about any project he takes on, including his “sheep project,” and is ashamed of his actions.
“I got my normal mindset clouded by my enthusiasm and looked for any grey area in the law to make the best sheep I could for this sheep industry,” he wrote. “My family has never been broke, but we are now.”
FILE - This undated handout photo provided by the Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, shows a sheep nicknamed Montana Mountain King that was part of unlawful scheme to create large, hybrid species of wild sheep for sale to hunting preserves in Texas. (Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks via AP, File)
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The folksy wisdom and jokes that were a staple of the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting for decades when Warren Buffett was leading the show will be missing Saturday, but shareholders still started lining up at midnight outside a Nebraska arena to listen to new CEO Greg Abel.
Attendance is down significantly this year with the arena only a little over half full as the meeting unfolded. That’s much different from the past few years when more than 40,000 attended to listen to the 95-year-old Buffett and — before his death in 2023, Buffett’s longtime partner Charlie Munger was always part of the fun. Buffett gave up the CEO title in January, but he remains chairman and did make a few comments during the meeting.
Saturday’s meeting began with a video tribute to Buffett and the company's history beginning with a clip showing the standing ovation Buffett received last year after he surprised shareholders by announcing that he would step down.
Abel then announced the symbolic move of retiring jerseys with Buffett’s and Munger’s names on them that will hang in the rafters of the arena.
Buffett took the microphone briefly to praise Abel and recognize Apple CEO Tim Cook, who attended the meeting. Buffett said Abel has done a tremendous job so far, and Cook helped Berkshire's initial $35 billion investment in Apple grow to be worth $185 billion today.
“Greg is doing everything I did and then some,” Buffett said, so his decision to step down has worked out great so far.
Abel has been on stage next to the legendary investor for several years, but this is his first time running the show. Investors expect the conversation to focus more on how the dozens of companies Berkshire owns are doing. The conglomerate owns major insurers like Geico, several major utilities like Pacificorp, BNSF railroad and an assortment of manufacturers, retail and service businesses.
Signs of the transition are peppered throughout the 200,000-square-foot exhibit hall where shareholders buy products from Berkshire companies. A caricature of Abel playing his favorite sport of hockey is front and center on commemorative boxes of See’s Candy. At the Pilot Travel Center booth, pictures of Abel and Buffett are plastered on a semitrailer truck windshield, but Abel is in the driver’s seat. And this year Jazwares created a Squishmallow version of Abel to go with the latest versions of Buffett and Munger as stuffed dolls that shareholders lined up to buy.
“Sadly we miss Warren and Charlie and that show which was fun, but it’s a business meeting for a lot of us and hearing what the businesses are doing is what it’s all about,” investor Chris Bloomstran, who is president of Semper Augustus Investments Group said.
But also many people travel to Omaha primarily to meet up with like-minded value investors, who practice the approach that Buffett employed, and attend some of the investment conferences and meetings that are scheduled around Berkshire’s shareholder meeting.
“That’s why I’m really here, really here is to network with other people,” said Bob Robotti, who runs his own investment company. He doesn’t expect surprises from Abel and the other Berkshire executives at the meeting. “They shouldn’t say anything that would be shocking and surprising because they’re consistent with what they do.”
Abel opened the meeting with a detailed discussion of how Berkshire's biggest businesses are performing. He gave a granular explanation about the performance of Berkshire’s insurers, its railroad and its utilities. He talked about how Berkshire is using artificial intelligence “to solve problems at our companies.” But he stressed over and over that Berkshire's basic approach will not change, and he won't feel pressured to spend the company's nearly $400 billion in cash prematurely.
“One of our greatest strengths at Berkshire is patience and being disciplined at allocating our capital,” Abel said. “We’re not anxious to deploy capital into subpar opportunities.”
Vice Chairman Ajit Jain said Berkshire would be willing to insure ships crossing the Strait of Hormuz, but “the short answer is it depends on the price.” He said Berkshire must get the right rate and the U.S. Navy will have to escort those ships.
Many investors are watching closely for any changes Abel might make, but there’s not a lot of reason expect anything big. After all, Abel has been with Berkshire for more than 25 years, and he had already been managing all of the conglomerate’s noninsurance businesses for nearly eight years by the time he was promoted. Abel has promised to maintain Berkshire’s culture that trusts the CEOs of all of its businesses to largely run their day-to-day operations.
The CEOs of Dairy Queen, See’s Candy, Jazwares and Brooks Running all said very little has changed since Abel was promoted other than they now report to NetJets CEO Adam Johnson who is overseeing 32 retail and service businesses.
“I think this is a very deeply rooted culture that Warren has created, and I believe the transition to Greg is going to be rooted in those values that Warren has for 60 years instituted and will continue,” Brooks CEO Dan Sheridan said.
For years Buffett always said he was having too much fun running Berkshire to ever retire, but once the shock of his announcement in the final minutes of last years meeting wore off the company’s executives quickly agreed this plan for the transition was better so Buffett can still be around to advise Abel.
“Berkshire is as strong today as it’s ever been and Warren is still part of it,” DQ CEO Troy Bader said as his staff sold Dilly Bars to shareholders. “Warren is still present. So that’s the greatest combination right now, to be able to have that transition in leadership where Greg and Warren can still work together.”
Abel is known to be a more demanding and hands-on boss than Buffett ever was, but he does that by challenging Berkshire’s CEOs to strengthen their competitive advantages while taking care of their customers. Abel asks tough questions and offers advice that his CEOs appreciate, but he doesn’t tell them exactly what to do.
And with Buffett remaining Berkshire’s chairman and its largest shareholder it’s unlikely that Abel will make any drastic changes. So shareholders shouldn’t expect Berkshire to start paying a dividend or that Abel will suddenly split the company up.
Robotti said the performance of Berkshire’s businesses should be much more important to shareholders than the entertainment value of the annual meetings.
“My hope and expectation are they’re picking people who have competency in running a business and not necessarily public speakers and presenters,” Robotti said.
Berkshire said Saturday morning that its profits more than doubled in the first-quarter to $10.1 billion, or $7,027 per Class A share, as the value of its investments grew and most of its businesses improved.
The paper value of Berkshire’s investments always has a major impact on its bottom line, and it did record a $5.8 billion gain on the stocks it did sell. The value of the portfolio did slip to just over $288 billion.
Berkshire’s massive cash pile continues to grow, and it hit $397.4 billion at the end of the first quarter.
Most of Berkshire’s varied businesses reported better operating earnings this year. The insurance unit that includes Geico and a number of other companies reported an underwriting profit of $1.7 billion, up from $1.34 billion last year. Profits also grew somewhat at BNSF railroad and Berkshire’s utility and manufacturing companies.
But Abel acknowledged there is more improvement needed — especially at BNSF.
Portraits of Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffett, left, and CEO Greg Abel sit in a semi truck at the Pilot display in the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholders arrive inside the CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholders enter the CHI Health Center Omaha for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholder Anna Larsen, 16, left, of Underwood, Iowa, poses for photo with her friend Ainsley Roberts, 17, in the Hello Kitty portion of the Squishmallows display in the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Shareholder Alex Vacca of Milwaukee poses for a photo in a foam hat in the Justin display od the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday, May 2, 2026, in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz)
Author and former Omaha World-Herald reporter Steve Jordan signs copies of his book at the Berkshire Hathaway shareholders event on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
A Berkshire Hathaway shareholder takes a selfie in front of a Pilot truck stops semi truck with pictures of Berkshire's top two executives behind the wheel: new CEO Greg Abel and Chairman Warren Buffett on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders stand in line to purchase Squishmallows versions of the company's top executives: CEO Greg Abel, Chairman Warren Buffett and former Vice Chairman Charlie Munger on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Berkshire Hathaway shareholders line up to buy products at the Pampered Chef booth behind a cutout of longtime CEO Warren Buffett who stepped down in January on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
Shareholders line up to take pictures with depictions of Berkshire Hathaway's new CEO Greg Abel and Chairman Warren Buffett on Friday, May 1, 2026 in Omaha, Neb. (AP Photo/Josh Funk)
