October 3, 2018

Blessings, Inc., of Tucson, Arizona, and two associated individuals, were sentenced following guilty pleas to pay over $1.2 million in fines, forfeiture and restitution for the illegal trafficking in sea cucumber from 2010-2012. Defendants admitted that they obtained the sea cucumber in Mexico in violation of Mexican law, imported the sea cucumber into the United States with false documentation, and illegally exported the sea cucumber to Asia.  Portions of the fines will be deposited in the Lacey Act Rewards Fund and the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act Fund. USAO S.D. Cal.

Tagged in: Wildlife Fraud,