A California man was sentenced to 65 months in federal prison for smuggling more than 1,700 reptiles into the United States over a six-year period, the Justice Department announced.
Jose Manuel Perez, 44, of Oxnard, California, pleaded guilty in August 2022 to one count of smuggling goods into the United States and one count of wildlife trafficking, according to court documents. Between January 2016 and February 2022, Perez and co-conspirators smuggled wildlife into the United States from Mexico, Hong Kong and other locations without obtaining permits required under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, and without declaring any of the animals at the border, prosecutors said.
Perez and his co-conspirators used social media to negotiate purchases and arrange deliveries, posting photos and videos of animals being collected from the wild to advertise them for sale, according to the Justice Department.
For animals originating in Mexico, Perez’s co-conspirators retrieved wildlife — including Yucatán box turtles, Mexican box turtles, baby crocodiles and Mexican beaded lizards — from Ciudad Juárez International Airport and transported them by car to El Paso, Texas, court records show. Perez paid a “crossing fee” for each border run, with the amount varying based on the number of animals, the size of the shipment and the perceived risk of detection, prosecutors said.
On other occasions, Perez and a co-conspirator traveled to Mexico to purchase live animals taken directly from the wild before smuggling them across the border, according to the Justice Department. The animals were then transported to Perez’s home, first in Missouri and later in California after he relocated.
In total, Perez was responsible for the illegal smuggling and importation of at least 1,700 animals with a combined fair market value exceeding $739,000, prosecutors said.
Perez was already serving a nine-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in May 2023 to three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms, according to the Justice Department. His criminal record includes prior felony convictions in Ventura County Superior Court for street terrorism and assault with a deadly weapon.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations provided assistance, the Justice Department said.
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