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US Man Bought Plutonium From Russia and Sold It Online Across America
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A Massachusetts man bought plutonium from Russia and resold the radioactive material online to dozens of customers across the United States and abroad, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts on October 5.
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Jacob D. Miller, 44, pleaded guilty to illegally importing nuclear material after operating an online store that offered plutonium and other hazardous substances. Between late 2020 and March 2025, Miller sold plutonium to at least 67 customers in the US, Canada, Japan, and Switzerland.
According to The New York Times, Miller purchased the plutonium from a seller in St. Petersburg, Russia. The material was advertised through his online business, Collect The Periodic Table, which he had operated since 2017 and which specialized in samples of chemical elements.
Among the products Miller offered was plutonium-239 sourced from an old Soviet smoke detector, according to court records. Individual samples were sold for around $500 and shipped from Miller’s home in South Hadley, Massachusetts.
Plutonium-239 is a radioactive isotope used in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Federal law restricts the import, possession, and transportation of nuclear material, while plutonium is prohibited from being sent through the US mail without authorization.
Federal authorities searched Miller’s home on April 8, 2025, finding radioactive and hazardous substances, six firearms, ammunition, and explosive materials. He has remained in custody since his arrest the following day.
Prosecutors said Miller also sold thallium, a highly toxic metal, to approximately 71 customers. In April 2025, Minnesota resident Stuart Hanmer purchased two five-gram portions of thallium from Miller. Hanmer was later charged with killing his neighbor, Cody Ernst, whose body was found to contain a lethal concentration of the substance.
Miller had previously come under scrutiny for selling radioactive material. In 2014, Massachusetts radiation regulators discovered that he was selling depleted uranium on eBay. Miller subsequently told authorities that he would stop selling radioactive substances.
Federal prosecutors said Miller later told FBI agents that he had been trying to make money quickly from the sales.
In addition to illegally importing plutonium, Miller pleaded guilty to mailing hazardous materials, illegally possessing ammunition and explosives, and possessing child sexual abuse material. The illegal importation of nuclear material carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Miller is scheduled to be sentenced on January 21, 2027.
Earlier, Russian soldiers were found to be systematically smuggling weapons from the war zone in Ukraine and reselling them on Russia’s black market and darknet platforms. An investigation by independent outlet Verstka documented assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, and sniper rifles being diverted from the front into illicit supply chains.
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