| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 26, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN FRANCISCO. On March 20, 2007, Danny Yep, 27, of San Francisco, California was sentenced to two months in prison for selling an endangered species to an undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent using the Internet. Upon completion of his two months in prison, Mr. Yep will then be subject to four months of home confinement. On December 13, 2007, Mr. Yep pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Lacey Act, which, among other things, criminalizes the sale of endangered species. Mr. Yep was caught in 2004 selling an Asian Arowana fish to an undercover U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent using an Internet auction site called Aquabid. The Asian Arowana fish, also known as Asian Boney tongue fish, is native to Indonesia and Malaysia. It is classified as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). It is illegal to take, possess, sell, or purchase this fish without a permit. In pleading guilty to the offense, Mr. Yep admitted that he knew the fish was listed as endangered, and that both the importation and sale of the fish were illegal.
This case is part of a larger effort on behalf of the federal government to crack down on the illegal trade of endangered and protected species on the Internet. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, illegal wildlife traffickers are relying more heavily on the Internet to offer their goods for sale. This increased traffic can create new markets for wildlife trade, thus increasing the demand and supply of endangered species worldwide. Undercover operations, such as the one seen here, have helped to ferret out the sale of endangered species through auction houses and other Internet websites. More preventative measures have helped as well. In particular, while this case was not based on eBay transactions, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has successfully worked with eBay to identify and remove postings for endangered and protected species on its auction site as part of its pre-emptive measures to reduce this illegal trade.
In addition to the two month term of imprisonment, followed by four months of home confinement, Mr. Yep was also fined $2,000, and placed on three years probation. The Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Judge, handed down the sentence.
The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. Stacey Geis is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case.
Further Information:
A copy of this press release may be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website at www.usdoj.gov/usao/can.
Electronic court filings and further procedural and docket information are available at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
Judges’ calendars with schedules for upcoming court hearings can be viewed on the court’s website at www.cand.uscourts.gov.
All press inquiries to the U.S. Attorney’s Office should be directed to Joshua Eaton at (415) 436-6958 or by email at Josh.Eaton@usdoj.gov.