Arthur Rathburn was the owner and operator of International Biological, Inc. (IBI), a Michigan company that supplied human cadavers and anatomical specimens for medical and dental training. Federal authorities investigated the company after discovering evidence involving infectious human remains and their transportation. Rathburn and his then-wife, Elizabeth Rathburn, were indicted in January 2016 on federal charges including wire fraud, transportation of hazardous material, and false statements.
A significant part of the federal case involved an international shipment of eight human heads. According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, Rathburn shipped the specimens from Detroit to Tel Aviv for an overseas training course and subsequently had them shipped from Tel Aviv back to Detroit.
The returning shipment arrived at Detroit in February 2012. Federal records stated that one of the heads came from a donor whose recorded cause of death was bacterial sepsis and bacterial pneumonia. The head had been transported in a trash bag placed inside a camping cooler. Seven other human heads were included in the shipment.
The government alleged that the transportation violated federal hazardous-material regulations. Evidence presented at trial established that Rathburn had been provided information concerning the donor's cause of death. The shipment nevertheless traveled internationally without the packaging and labeling required for the transportation of hazardous material.
The Tel Aviv shipment was separate from the broader allegations concerning IBI's handling of human remains. Federal prosecutors presented evidence that Rathburn obtained donated bodies and body parts and supplied them to customers for medical and dental training. Some specimens had tested positive for infectious diseases, including HIV and hepatitis B. Prosecutors alleged that Rathburn and IBI represented certain remains to customers as free of specified infectious diseases despite having information to the contrary.
In January 2018, a federal jury convicted Rathburn on seven counts of wire fraud and one count of illegal transportation of hazardous material. He was acquitted of one false-statement count and two additional wire-fraud counts, while two false-statement counts were dismissed.
On May 22, 2018, a federal judge sentenced Rathburn to 108 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. The United States Department of Justice stated that the conviction resulted from evidence concerning the distribution of infectious human remains and the illegal transportation of hazardous material.
Rathburn appealed his convictions. On May 8, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the convictions. The appellate court specifically described the hazardous-material charge as arising from the transportation of a diseased human head overseas and back to the United States without proper packaging or labeling.
The federal court record establishes that the shipment traveled between Tel Aviv and Detroit and that the specimens were associated with an overseas training course. The records establish the involvement of Tel Aviv as a location in the transaction, but they do not establish that Rathburn was an Israeli citizen or that he was Israeli by nationality.
The available federal records likewise do not establish that the Israeli government was involved in Rathburn's criminal conduct. The prosecution concerned Rathburn, International Biological, Inc., and the handling and transportation of human remains. Any additional claims concerning specific Israeli individuals or institutions would require separate documentary evidence.
The Rathburn case subsequently became an example cited in legal and academic discussions concerning the commercial trade and transportation of human remains in the United States. The case also contributed to broader examination of regulatory gaps surrounding the acquisition, handling, and commercial distribution of donated human remains.
