Dave Sommers of PA?

Has anyone had any dealings with this gentleman? He has some gorgeous diamondback terrapins advertised on Kingsnake that I would like to purchase, but would like some feedback before sending him my money.


Thanks in advance!

http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/foru...d.php?t=115448

Excellent job, Nathan! Just to save time for readers, here is the story Nathan posted on the Dave Sommers thread he linked above. Note the date.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/penns...icking-turtles

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Pennsylvania Man Indicted for Trafficking Turtles

A federal grand jury sitting in Philadelphia indicted David Sommers, 62, of Levittown, Pennsylvania for trafficking in protected diamondback terrapins. The indictment charges Sommers with smuggling turtles and submitting false records for a package shipped to Canada and four violations of the Lacey Act for trafficking over 3,500 turtles in interstate commerce.

The USFWS seized over 3,400 diamondback terrapin hatchlings from Sommers’ house in October while executing a search warrant. They were able to coordinate with biologists and return the hatchlings back into their New Jersey native habitat.

The indictment alleges that throughout 2017 Sommers poached diamondback terrapins and their eggs from coastal marshes in New Jersey. He would then illegally sell the turtles in violation of the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act is the nation’s oldest wildlife trafficking statute and prohibits the sale of wildlife that had been taken in violation of law. The indictment also charges that in 2014, Sommers smuggled turtles to Canada and falsely labeled the package by claiming it contained a book.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania William M. McSwain, and Acting Assistant Director Edward Grace of the Office of Law Enforcement for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the indictment today.

“The distinctive coloration and pattern of the diamondback terrapin make it highly susceptible to illegal poaching and smuggling,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Wood. “The Department of Justice will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to prosecute those who break our nation’s wildlife protection statutes for the sake of illegal profit.”

“Wildlife trafficking decimates many species worldwide and undermines the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain. “Through the ongoing collaboration between ENRD, USFWS, and my Office, we have worked hard to stop wildlife trafficking dead in its tracks. Today’s indictment reaffirms our commitment to ending this destructive practice.”

"It is one of the highest priorities for special agents of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement to investigate transnational criminal organizations targeting our native wildlife species. 3,400 protected turtles, native to the United States were interdicted and returned to the wild with cooperation from other federal, state and local agencies to support imperiled wild populations,” said Acting Assistant Director Edward Grace of USFWS’s Office of Law Enforcement.

Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a semi-aquatic species of turtle native to brackish waters in eastern and southern United States. They are not found in the wild in Pennsylvania, but have a dwindling habitat range in neighboring New Jersey. The terrapins are prized in the reptile pet trade for their unique, diamond-shaped shell markings. The turtles are protected under New Jersey law and by an international treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The United States, Canada, and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to CITES, which provides a mechanism for regulating international trade in species whose continued survival is threatened by such trade. Due to declining populations, CITES listed the diamondback terrapin as threatened in 2013, and New Jersey banned collecting, possessing, and transporting them in 2016.

If convicted, Sommers faces a maximum sentence of 10 years incarceration on the smuggling charge and five years for the Lacey Act violations. The indictment also seeks to forfeit from Sommers all the turtles involved in the investigation.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The USFWS conducted the investigation with assistance from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. The government is represented by Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of the Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joan Burnes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Environment and Natural Resources Division
USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern
Press Release Number: 18-903

Update:

"PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- A Bucks County man has pleaded guilty to trafficking protected turtles.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania says David Sommers of Levittown on Monday admitted to sending a package to Canada in 2014 containing 11 diamondback terrapin hatchlings.

Sommers pleaded guilty to one felony count of violating the Lacey Act and agreed to forfeit nearly 3,500 diamondback terrapin hatchlings that authorities say he poached from coastal marshes in New Jersey. The Lacey Act bans trade in illegally obtained wildlife, fish and plants.

As part of the agreement, prosecutors will drop the remaining charges against him at his sentencing on May 15. He faces up to five years in prison.

Terrapins are prized in the reptile pet trade for their unique shell markings. The turtles are protected under New Jersey law and by international treaty."

Link: https://6abc.com/bucks-county-man-pl...&sf207254551=1

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edpa/pr...tected-turtles


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 29, 2019

Levittown Man Sentenced for Trafficking Protected Turtles

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney William M. McSwain announced that David Sommers, 64, of Levittown, PA was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release including six months’ home detention, and $250,000 restitution by United States District Judge Anita B. Brody for trafficking protected turtles.

From November 2011 until October 2017, the defendant poached thousands of protected diamondback terrapins and their eggs from coastal marshes in New Jersey and illegally sold the turtles. A grand jury indicted Sommers on July 10, 2018 for his criminal conduct involving the sale, export, and false-labeling of packages containing protected diamondback terrapins. On February 4, 2019, Sommers pleaded guilty to false-labeling of packages containing protected diamondback terrapins.

During the sentencing hearing, the government offered evidence that the total market value of the defendant’s sales figures and inventory of poached wildlife was worth well over $550,000.

“The defendant had a simple business plan: poach protected turtles and their eggs from their natural habitat, advertise them for sale online and then illegally ship them to customers by concealing the actual contents of the packages,” said U.S. Attorney McSwain. “Sommers represented himself as a legitimate reptile breeder, when he was in fact endangering the lives of these animals and breaking the law. Thanks to our partners at the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and the United States Postal Inspection Service, this defendant will be held responsible for his actions.”

“Sommers used a sham business to shamelessly mask an illegal trade in threatened and protected species,” said Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Bossert Clark of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The Justice Department and our law enforcement partners will safeguard our nation’s natural resources and biodiversity and prosecute wildlife traffickers to the fullest extent of the law.”

Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a semi-aquatic species of turtle native to brackish waters in eastern and southern United States. They are not found in the wild in Pennsylvania, where Sommers resided, but have a dwindling habitat range in neighboring New Jersey. The terrapins are prized in the reptile pet trade for their unique, diamond-shaped shell markings. The turtles are protected under New Jersey law and by an international treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The United States, Canada, and approximately 181 other countries are signatories to CITES, which provides a mechanism for regulating international trade in species whose continued survival is threatened by such trade. Due to declining populations, CITES listed the diamondback terrapin as threatened in 2013, and New Jersey banned collecting, possessing, and transporting them in 2016.

This case was investigated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service with assistance from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joan E. Burnes and trial attorney Ryan Connors of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section.