Man Who Sent HIV-Infected Body Parts Convicted Of Fraud

DETROIT, MI – A federal court jury convicted a 63-year-old Grosse Pointe Park man of illegally transporting and distributing human body parts that had tested positive for HIV and hepatitis. Arthur Rathburn, the owner of International Biological Inc., now faces up to 20 years in prison.

It took the jury four hours of deliberations to reach the verdict on Friday, according to U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider's office. Rathburn was convicted on wire fraud and transportation of hazardous materials.

Rathburn and his wife, Elizabeth Rathburn, 56, owned and operated International Biological Inc., which provided human body parts, including heads and torsos, to customers who used them for dental and medical training. Authorities said that the Rathburns knew that the donors of the bodies had died of or tested positive for infectious diseases.

Arthur Rathburn also violated federal law by transporting hazardous materials. In one case, Arthur Rathburn packaged a human head of a person who had died of bacterial sepsis and pneumonia in a trash bag, and then placed it, along with seven other heads, in a camping cooler, and shipped it via a Delta Cargo, an air carrier, according to court records. Large quantities of human blood also were shipped in the coolers.

For her involvement, Elizabeth Rathburn pleaded guilty to wire fraud in March 2016. As part of her plea deal, she admitted to providing human heads to a customer and falsely claiming they were free of infectious diseases. She has not been sentenced.

"Today's verdict is a victory for the cause of justice," said David P. Gelios, Special Agent In Charge at the Detroit FBI. "The fraud scheme shocked even th e most experienced of our investigative team. ... Once again, personal greed overcame decency."

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