| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 18, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
OAKLAND – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that Nicki Phung and Steven Tieu pleaded guilty this week to illegally importing a real mounted stuffed tiger from Vietnam. This guilty plea is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In pleading guilty, Mr. Tieu and Ms. Phung admitted to importing a real mounted tiger from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, into San Francisco International Airport in December 2007, without obtaining an export permit from Vietnam or an import permit from the United States. Tigers are listed as endangered species under the Federal Endangered Species Act and are protected on Appendix I of the international wildlife treaty – Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, otherwise known as CITES.
Ms. Phung, 31, of Hercules, California, and Mr. Tieu, 38, of Hercules, California, were charged by information on March 28, 2008. Ms. Phung was charged with one count of violating the Lacey Act, in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a) and 3373(d)(1)(A). Mr. Tieu was charged with one count of violating the Endangered Species Act, in violation of 16 U.S.C. §§ 1538(a)(1)(A) and 1540(b). Under the plea agreement, each defendant pled guilty to one count.
The sentencing of Ms. Phung is scheduled for July 25, 2008, at 10 a.m., before the Honorable D. Lowell Jensen in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for one count of violating the Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a) and 3373(d)(1)(A) is 5 years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, plus restitution. The sentencing of Mr. Tieu is scheduled for April 24, 2008, at 10 a.m., before the Honorable Wayne D. Brazil in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for a violation of the Endangered Species Act, 1538(a)(1)(A) and 1540(b) is 1 year imprisonment, a fine of $100,000, plus restitution. However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Maureen Bessette is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Laurie Best. The prosecution is the result of a 3 month investigation by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Further Information:
Case #: CR08-0203 WDB (Phung) and CR08-0204 DLJ (Tieu)
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.