2 Sentenced for Violating Lacey Act by Smuggling Jaguar Skins from Mexico

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida has announced that Elias Garcia and Maria Plancarte have each been sentenced to one year and one day in prison, followed by terms of supervised release of two years, for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act by smuggling jaguar skins from Mexico and trafficking in them in the U.S. They also face deportation from the U.S. upon completion of their term of imprisonment. No fine was imposed as the judge determined the defendants could not afford a criminal fine. The jaguar is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Under cover of a plant seed company that Garcia and Plancarte jointly operated, the defendants sold two jaguar pelts to undercover Fish and Wildlife Service agents and planned a future sale of up to 10 jaguar pelts to be smuggled into the U.S. from Mexico.