DOJ Indicts Four Former Managers Over 2021 Illinois Mine Fire Cover-Up

DOJ Charges Four Former Mine Managers

Federal prosecutors indicted four former managers of an Illinois coal mine for concealing a fire and attempting to interfere with a Mine Safety and Health Administration investigation, according to Safety+Health Magazine. An Aug. 6 announcement from the Department of Justice states that Cory Humphrey, Ronald Koontz, Demitrios Macropoulos and Randy Nowland have been charged with multiple crimes, including conspiring to defraud MSHA following an August 2021 fire at the MC#1 Mine in Franklin County, IL.

Details of the Alleged Incident

DOJ alleges in the indictment that miners ignited an underground fire while using cutting torches to remove collapsed steel beams in the mine. They were unable to extinguish the fire after 10 minutes, which should have resulted in a mine evacuation and notifying MSHA of the event. Instead, according to DOJ, the defendants are alleged to have directed coal mining to continue during ad hoc firefighting efforts through the morning of Aug. 14, according to Safety+Health Magazine.

An anonymous tip alerted MSHA to the fire, prompting federal officials to issue an evacuation order. Prosecutors allege two instances in which defendants re-entered the mine to assess the fire and manipulate the conditions underground to fool underground gas detectors so that MSHA would allow mining to resume.

Guilty Plea and Additional Statements

Brandon Parsons, another conspirator and former mine manager, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud MSHA in August 2025 for his involvement in helping to conceal the fire. DOJ states in the announcement that an indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, according to Safety+Health Magazine.