| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 7, 2009 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN FRANCISCO – Qing Song pled guilty yesterday to one felony count of violating the Lacey Act, and was sentenced to 10 months of home confinement and a $2,000 fine, United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced.
Song, 54, was indicted in March for her involvement in the illegal trade of endangered sea turtle parts. In pleading guilty, she admitted that from 2005 to 2007 she brought Hawksbill sea turtle shell parts from China into the United States in the form of guitar picks or raw shell that could be used to make guitar picks. Song then sold these guitar picks and sea turtle parts.
Song admitted to selling fifty guitar picks on August 16, 2007. She also admitted to being found in possession of nearly 900 guitar picks on September 12, 2007; these guitar picks had a wholesale value of approximately $10,000.
Hawksbill sea turtles are one of seven distinct species of sea turtles that have been identified as endangered either under the Endangered Species Act and/or the international treaty CITES – the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Unless a valid export and import permit is obtained, and the trade is for non-commercial reasons such as scientific research, it is unlawful to engage in trade in wildlife that is protected as endangered by either of these statutes.
Immediately following the guilty plea, Judge Charles R. Breyer sentenced Song. In addition to home confinement and the monetary fine, Song also received three years probation and was ordered not to sell sea turtle parts, including guitar picks or string instruments that contain sea turtle parts.
Stacey Geis is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of legal assistant Rayneisha Booth. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Office of Law Enforcement; and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 09-0324 CRB
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