Dania Beach Businessman Convicted In Illegal Ivory Trafficking Operation

A Dania Beach businessman pled guilty to trafficking in elephant ivory.

Wilfredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Ed Grace, Deputy Assistant Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Robert C. Hutchinson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, and Delany E. De Leon-Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), made the announcement.

Raymond J. Reppert, Jr., 54, of Dania Beach, Florida, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court in Miami to knowingly making and causing to be made false records, accounts, labels for, and false identifications of wildlife, that is elephant ivory, by creating and causing to be created documents falsely identifying elephant ivory as resin carvings and wood samples, said elephant ivory having been and intended to be transported in interstate and foreign commerce, in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(d)(2) and 3373(d)(3)(A)(i), and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2.  Reppert faces a maximum statutory sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.   The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced in Miami before U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams February 25, 2016.

According to court documents, including a joint factual proffer, Reppert was doing business as Raymie’s Commercial & Residential Moving (Raymies), a packing and shipping company specializing in antiques and located in Dania Beach, Florida,.

On February 14, 2014, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at the Miami International Mail Facility identified a parcel being exported from the United States, which was referred to the Fish and Wildlife Service for inspection.  An FWS Wildlife Inspector determined that the package, being mailed to Guangdong, China, contained elephant ivory.  The sender listed a Dania, FL address. The accompanying Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note (Postal Service Form 2976-A) completed by the sender described the contents as “resin carvings” with a declared value of $60.   The investigation revealed that the return address was invalid.

A search of a CBP database located over 245 matching records, including shipments from a post office in Pompano Beach, Florida.  USPIS inspectors verified that the name and return addresses for those shipments were also false.  The investigation revealed that a postal clerk knew the sender as “Raymie,” a regular customer who shipped parcels for other people as part of his business.

On February 20, 2014, CBP detained a second parcel consigned to the address in Guangdong, China.  The customs declaration form described the item as a “resin carving” with a declared value of $60, however, FWS personnel identified and photographed the elephant ivory carving found in the parcel.  The credit card sales receipt for the parcel was signed by Reppert and video footage captured the defendant dropping off the parcel at the post office.

Thereafter, between March 25 and April 22, 2014, the inter-agency team identified and inspected six additional export shipments originated by Reppert, each consigned to an address in China that was falsely labelled and documented as wood or resin carvings, when in fact they contained undeclared elephant ivory carvings.

Trade in elephant ivory is regulated under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (“CITES”).  CITES is a treaty providing protection to fish, wildlife and plants that are or could become imperiled due to the demands of international markets. CITES has been signed by over 170 countries including the United States. CITES is implemented in the United States through the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). 16 U.S.C. § 1538(c); 50 C.F.R. §§ 14 and 23.  An animal species listed as protected under CITES cannot be exported from the United States without prior notification to, and approval from, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 50 C.F.R. §§ 20.13 and 20.20.  Species protected under CITES are listed in a series of appendices (Appendices I, II and III), designating the level of protection afforded each species.  Under Appendix II of CITES, a species can be exported from the United States to a foreign country only if, prior to exportation, the exporter possesses a valid CITES export permit issued by the United States.  Under Appendix I of CITES, a species can only be exported from the United States if, prior to exportation, the exporter possesses a valid foreign import permit issued by the country of import and a valid export permit issued by the United States.  The Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) is a species of elephant native to south-central and southeastern Asia. The Asian elephant is listed on Appendix I of CITES, and was listed as an endangered species in June 1976. 41 Fed. Reg. 24064. The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a species of elephant native to eastern and central Africa. The African elephant is listed in Appendix I of CITES, though certain populations of African elephants (specifically those from South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe) are listed in Appendix II, accompanied by a special annotation allowing only non-commercial international trade in specimens of those populations. The African elephant was listed as a threatened species under the ESA in May 1978. 43 Fed. Reg. 20504.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FWS, ICE-HSI, USPIS and CBP for their assistance with the investigation. This matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald of the Economic & Environmental Crimes Section.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.