California Couple Sentenced in Oregon for Trafficking Protected Wildlife

A California couple received three years of probation and a $10,000 fine each on October 23, 2026, after pleading guilty in federal court in Eugene, Oregon, to violating the Lacey Act. Their case involved trafficking protected wildlife parts between Oregon and Vietnam.

Linh Luu and Kevin Le, of Anaheim, admitted processing $51,100 in payments between September 2019 and May 2021 to help an individual in Vietnam move wildlife items illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The transactions involved American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones shipped to Vietnam. Items imported into Oregon included lion teeth, segments of black and white rhinoceros horns, and a tiger pelt. The case concerned animal parts, rather than a reported rescue of living animals.

A government sentencing submission described a December 2020 meeting with an undercover federal agent. The couple accepted $12,000 as a down payment for a rhinoceros-horn segment and discussed avoiding banking scrutiny. They subsequently each received nearly $5,000 electronically. The horn segment was shipped to Oregon disguised as a household decoration.

DOJ said all species involved were protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, known as CITES. The defendants lacked the required permits. The Lacey Act prohibits, among other conduct, buying or selling wildlife that was illegally imported or exported.

CITES protections extend to listed animals’ parts and products. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service guidance explains that the treaty uses different levels of protection and documentation requirements. Commercial international trade in Appendix I specimens is generally prohibited, with limited exemptions; other listings carry different permitting rules.

The Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement investigated, assisted by Homeland Security Investigations and Oregon State Police.

Why This Matters for Animals

The prosecution reached people who helped process payments for illegal wildlife transactions. It demonstrates that enforcement can address financial intermediaries as well as the movement of prohibited goods.

The confirmed outcome is guilty pleas and sentences for unlawful trade. The available account does not establish how many individual animals supplied the parts or quantify any resulting reduction in poaching.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice — California couple sentenced for trafficking protected wildlife