Man Sentenced for Importing and Selling Parts of Endangered Species

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Upperville man was sentenced today to 30 days in prison and one year of supervised release for selling endangered species and other wildlife parts that were illegally imported into the United States.

According to court documents, Keith R. Foster, 60, is a golf course architect who also operated a store in Middleburg known as “the Outpost.” Between 2014 and 2018, Foster imported at least 35 separate shipments of merchandise for resale at the Outpost, some of which contained wildlife and wildlife parts, but he failed to declare any of the wildlife within those shipments to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service upon import, as required by law. To conceal the existence of wildlife pieces in the shipments and evade detection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, he caused many pieces to be labeled in a manner that obscured their true nature. Foster then sold at his store the wildlife pieces that he illegally imported.

During the five-year period in question, Foster sold nearly $400,000 worth of items that constituted or contained parts of endangered species and other wildlife that he illegally imported into the United States. These items included Endangered Species Act items such as sawfish blades, crocodile skin bags, wallets and flasks, and handicrafts made of sea turtle shell.

In a telephone call with a customer in January 2017, Foster admitted that he should not be importing sawfish blades. Foster stated, “Rest assured, I’m gonna bring more in, ‘cause I’m the only fool in the States that probably wants to risk it.”

In December 2018, Foster was ordered to perform 50 hours of community service, forfeit scores of individual pieces of wildlife and wildlife parts, and ordered to forfeit $275,000. 

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Edward Grace, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon D. Kromberg prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:18-cr-456.