CASE SUMMARY - Office of Indiana State Chemist

applied a herbicide for-hire, as his customer notification indicated, he was in
violation of the state pesticide law. Similarly, if he applied only fertilizer, yet
claimed to have applied herbicide, he had committed fraud. Chad McPheeters
stated he only applied fertilizer, but did claim to have applied Dimension
herbicide because his customers were expecting it. He stated that, after talking to
me, he understood he could not apply herbicide since he is not licensed to do so,
but when the sale of the business fell through, he was left with customers awaiting
applications. The only product on the van on 3-16-2005 was granular fertilizer.
10. The lab report for the sample I submitted indicates no herbicide was detected,
confirming Chad McPheeters admission that he applied only fertilizer to the
lawns on 3-15-2005. As of 4-21-2005, Chad McPheeters had not taken the
Category 3b (turf) certification examination.
Disposition: Marty McPheeters, Chad McPheeters and Master Lawn were cited for six
(6) counts of violation of section 14(1) of the Indiana Pesticide Use and Application Law
for making false claims about a herbicide being in the lawn applications. A civil penalty
in the amount of $1,500.00 was assessed for these violations. This case was forward to
the Indiana Attorney General for collection of the civil penalty.
Andrew R. Roth Date: September 14, 2005
Pesticide Investigator
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