A South Hadley man with a prior child pornography conviction has pleaded guilty to illegally importing plutonium from Russia and mailing the radioactive material to customers across the country, federal prosecutors announced Monday.
Jacob D. Miller, 44, ran a business called “Collect The Periodic Table” out of his home in South Hadley, selling samples of chemical elements including plutonium and thallium, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts. He sold the materials directly and through the online marketplace Bonanza.
Between Dec. 30, 2020, and March 31, 2025, Miller sold plutonium to roughly 67 customers, shipping the radioactive metal through the US Postal Service, prosecutors said. He also sold the toxic heavy metal thallium to 71 customers nationwide.
Plutonium is a radioactive metal used in nuclear weapons and is extremely dangerous if inhaled, ingested, or absorbed through an open wound. Thallium is a highly toxic, odorless and tasteless heavy metal with slow-acting poisonous effects.
Miller was convicted in February 2004 of possessing child pornography and an explosive device, and was sentenced to two and a half years in prison followed by 10 years of probation. He launched his elements business after his release.
Investigators searching Miller’s home in April 2025 found a box containing bottles of explosive powder, ammunition, and six firearms he was prohibited from owning as a felon, prosecutors said. They also found additional child sexual abuse material on his laptop and cell phone, which authorities said he had accessed as recently as the day before the search.
A federal grand jury indicted Miller on April 17, and he has remained in custody since his arrest that month. He has pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition, one count of being a felon in possession of explosive materials, one count of importing nuclear material without lawful authority, one count of mailing hazardous materials, and one count of possession of child pornography.
US District Court Judge Mark Mastroianni is scheduled to sentence Miller on Jan. 21, 2027.
