Man avoids prison time in scheme that smuggled hundreds of turtles to China, feds say
A 30-year-old California man accused or running a turtle smuggling scheme was sentenced to probation in Oregon federal court, feds say.
Yuan Xie, 30, of Shanghai, China, purchased hundreds of endangered turtles and tried to ship them — sometimes using other people — to Hong Kong by mail or airline flights, an 18-month investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service found.
He was sentenced last week to five years of federal probation, 500 hours of community service and a $15,000 fine, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon.
Officials said he conspired with Xiao Dong Qin — also from Shanghai — to purchase the reptiles. Qin was sentenced to two years of probation and nearly $8,000 in restitution last February, the news release states.
Xie purchased 769 turtles from reptile shops from May 2017 until October 2018 in Alabama, California, Florida, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the news release.
Then he tried to transport the reptiles overseas. The species are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — an international treaty that protects animal and plant species from exploitation and trade.
Turtle species included Florida box turtles, eastern box turtles, North American wood turtles, spotted turtles, diamondback terrapins, three-toed box turtles, yellow-blotched map turtles and a Blanding’s turtle, the news release states.
One package intercepted by officials had 10 live turtles wrapped in socks. Their market value in China was estimated at $20,000, according to the criminal complaint.
Wildlife investigators concluded Xie spent more than $150,000 on turtles in which the market value in China would be more than double, the news release states.
Xie had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to smuggle goods from the U.S. in May.
This story was originally published September 7, 2021 at 1:53 PM with the headline "Man avoids prison time in scheme that smuggled hundreds of turtles to China, feds say."
