This week, Donald Do, of Daly City, California, was arrested on federal wildlife trafficking charges. Do is charged with conspiracy and Lacey Act crimes related to submitting false paperwork to obtain a federal export permit and trying to ship protected turtles to Asia.
The indictment alleges that between December 2022 and May 2024, Do and a California accomplice attempted to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan. Do’s co-conspirator obtained an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) based on a false claim by Do that he hatched and raised the turtles when he had not.
After obtaining the export permit, Do allegedly bought musk turtles poached from the wild in Florida and elsewhere, and tried to obtain more. Do told sellers he was willing to take “wild caught” and sent instructions to ship turtles to San Francisco. Do and the co-conspirator also allegedly tried to obtain over 200 turtles from Albert Bazaar, of Louisiana, who was detained last week in Phoenix on turtle trafficking charges . After unsuccessfully exporting the turtles, Do allegedly tried to conceal his role by lying to his co-conspirator in California that he had sold the turtles to other domestic buyers.
It is illegal under the Lacey Act to provide false information about wildlife involved in international or interstate commerce or to sell or transport wildlife taken in violation of state law. The USFWS issues permits to import or export fish, wildlife, and plants protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), of which the United States and 184 other governments are signatories. Loggerhead musk turtles were added to the list of protected species in November 2022.
The judge scheduled a bond hearing for May 21 and a status conference for July 31. If convicted, Do faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each of the conspiracy and Lacey Act charges. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), U.S. Attorney Craig Missakian for the Northern District of California, and Assistant Director Doug Ault, USFWS Office of Law Enforcement announced the arrest and charges.
The USFWS investigated the case as part of Operation Southern Hot Herps, which was a joint federal and state law enforcement operation to detect and deter turtle poachers in the southeastern United States. Homeland Security Investigations, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission assisted with the investigation.
Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Chambers for the Northern District of California are prosecuting the case.
An indictment merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.