Two Chinese nationals pleaded guilty to shipping more than 500 turtles to Hong Kong in violation of American wildlife law, the US Department of Justice said on Thursday.
Kin Keung Ho pleaded guilty on Thursday while Lihua Owen Ma pleaded guilty to a similar charge on July 1. Both are residents of Staten Island, one of the five boroughs of New York City.
“During the plea hearing, the government proffered that Ho shipped approximately 99 packages containing 578 turtles,” the agency said. “Ho falsely labelled the contents as containing crystals or stones.”
According to court documents, Ho and Ma were charged separately with exporting several species of US native turtles, including eastern box turtles, western box turtles, three-toed box turtles, spotted turtles and diamondback terrapins.
The pair face up to five years in prison and a US$250,000 fine, or twice the economic gain. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Lawyers representing Ho and Ma could not be reached for comment.