Eight Individuals Indicted for Lacey Act Violations and Other Crimes Relating to the Trafficking of Paddlefish “Caviar”

Eight individuals face federal charges stemming from a joint U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Missouri Department of Conservation investigation of interstate and international trafficking in paddlefish “caviar,” the Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri announced.  Arkadiy Lvovskiy, Dmitri Elitchev, Artour Magdessian, Felix Baravik, Petr Babenko, Bogdan Nahapetyan, Fedor Pakhnyuk and Andrew Praskovsky have been charged in four, separate indictments in the Western District of Missouri for acts that occurred in 2011 and 2012.

The American paddlefish (Polydon spathula), also called the Mississippi paddlefish or the “spoonbill,” is a freshwater fish that is primarily found in the Mississippi River drainage system.  Paddlefish eggs are marketed as caviar.  Paddlefish were once common in waters throughout the Midwest.  However, the global decline in other caviar sources, such as sturgeon, has led to an increased demand for paddlefish caviar.  This increased demand has led to over-fishing of paddlefish, and consequent decline of the paddlefish population.

Missouri law prohibits the transportation of paddlefish eggs which have been removed or extracted from a paddlefish carcass.  Missouri law also prohibits the sale or purchase, or offer of sale or purchase, of paddlefish eggs. There are also several restrictions on the purchase and possession of whole paddlefish in Missouri.

Among other things, the Lacey Act makes it unlawful for any person to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire or purchase fish that were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any state, or to attempt to do so. Such conduct constitutes a felony crime if the defendant knowingly engaged in conduct involving the purchase or sale, offer to purchase or sell or intent to purchase or sell, fish with a market value in excess of $350, knowing that the fish were taken, possessed, transported or sold in violation of, or in a manner unlawful under, a law or regulation of any state.

Arkadiy Lvovskiy, 51, of Aurora, Colo., Dmitri Elitchev, 46, of Centennial, Colo., Artour Magdessian, 46, of Lone Tree, Colo., and Felix Baravik, 48, of Aurora, Colo., were charged with conspiring with each other, and others, to violate the Lacey Act, and with trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.  The indictment alleges that in the spring of 2011 and 2012, the defendants traveled to Warsaw, Mo., where they engaged in multiple, illegal purchases of paddlefish and processed the eggs from those paddlefish into caviar.  After processing the paddlefish eggs into caviar, the defendants transported the caviar from Missouri to Colorado.  The indictment further alleges that, during the interstate transportation, the defendants engaged in counter-surveillance efforts in order to avoid being detected.

Petr Babenko, 42, of Vineland, N.J., and  Bogdan Nahapetyan, 33, of Lake Ozark, Mo., were charged with conspiring with each other and other individuals  to violate the Lacey Act, and with trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.  The indictment alleges that between March and April 2012, the defendants traveled to Warsaw where they engaged in multiple, illegal purchases of paddlefish and processed the eggs from those paddlefish into caviar.  After processing the paddlefish eggs into caviar, they transported the caviar from Missouri to New Jersey. 

Fedor Pakhnyuk, 39, of Hinsdale, Ill., is charged with two counts of trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.  According to the indictment, in the spring of 2011 and 2012 Pakhnyuk traveled from Illinois to Missouri for the purpose of obtaining paddlefish eggs.  The indictment alleges that Pakhnyuk procured paddlefish eggs by purchasing them, and by performing processing services for other persons in exchange for a share of the processed eggs.  After processing the paddlefish eggs into caviar, Pakhnyuk transported the caviar from Missouri to Illinois.  The indictment alleges that Pakhnyuk also attempted to form an enterprise with other individuals that would market processed paddlefish caviar at markets in Chicago, Illinois.

Andrew Praskovsky, 40, of Erie, Colo., is charged with two counts of trafficking in paddlefish and paddlefish eggs in violation of the Lacey Act.  According to the indictment, in March and April 2012, Praskovsky twice traveled to Warsaw for the purpose of purchasing paddlefish.  After processing the paddlefish eggs into caviar, Pakhnyuk transported the caviar from Missouri to Kansas.  The indictment alleges that, in April 2012, Praskovsky attempted to export some of the paddlefish eggs in checked luggage on an international flight departing from Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.  The paddlefish eggs were seized at Dulles, as paddlefish eggs may only be exported if they are accompanied by a valid permit issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service under the Convention for International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

If convicted, the individual defendants face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a $250,000 fine per count, as well as forfeiture of any vehicles that were used during the commission of the crimes.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Missouri Department of Conservation, with assistance by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys James B. Nelson and Adam C. Cullman of the Department of Justice’s Environmental Crimes Section and Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence E. Miller of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

An indictment is a formal accusation and is not proof of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are found guilty.