Lacey Act Sentence

The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, Kenyen R. Brown, and NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Tracy A. Dunn announce that David Braley was sentenced yesterday in two related cases.  First, Braley was sentenced to serve 30 months imprisonment for violations of the Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Section 3372 and 3373.  This charge was based on illegal sales of Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish including Red Snapper with a market value of $10,660.50.  Braley was ordered to pay $3,731.18 in restitution to the owner of the vessel he used to illegally catch and sell the fish and $319.82 to the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Braley was also sentenced to serve 63 months imprisonment concurrently to the first sentence for retaliation against a witness who had provided information in the Lacey Act Case.  This charge was based on postings Braley made on Facebook threatening physical violence to a witness.

This case was jointly investigated by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Alabama Marine Resource Division.  The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama and the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice.