The South Carolina man pleaded guilty on Thursday to importing sperm teeth and bones from four countries and selling them in the United States, federal prosecutors said.
Lauren H. Deloch, 69, of St. Helena Island, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to the Lacey Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act to the import and sale of sperm whale parts, according to the South Carolina Attorney General's Office.
Deloach has permitted the import of sperm teeth and bones to South Carolina from July 2022 to September 2024, including at least 30 shipments from Australia, Latvia, Norway and Ukraine, according to court documents and statements made in the court.
Deloach sold at least $18,000 on eBay for at least 85 pieces, and labeled the item as “plastic” to avoid detection by US customs officials, prosecutors said.
Authorities said they seized about $20,000 worth of sperm whale parts while searching for his residence.
On Sunday, it was not immediately clear how Deroch obtained the items and who bought them from him. Teeth and bones are highly regarded for their use in artworks such as sculptures and sculptures, prosecutors said.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sperm whales, the largest species of toothed whales, are found in all deep waters, from the equator to the enveloped ice edges of the Arctic and Antarctic Circle. Women can grow to 40 feet long, while men can grow to up to 52 feet long, the agency said.
Sperm whales have been protected since 1970 under the Endangered Species Species Act and the International Trade Treaty of Endangered Species Wild Fauna and Flora and Flora. The Lacey Act makes selling illegally imported wildlife illegally, prosecutors said.
“Illegal wildlife trafficking is a multi-billion dollar global business, with animals and fuels protecting organized crime,” said Brooke B. Andrews, a US lawyer for the South Carolina area. “We will continue to implement the Lacy Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Vulnerable species like sperm whales have been killed and not sold for parts.”
Delock's lawyer, Nathan S. Williams, said in a statement Sunday that Delorch “remursed his decision and accepted responsibility for them.”
Deloha is facing up to five years in prison, fined $250,000 on felony Lacey law charges and is facing up to one year in prison for misdemeanor violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
The incident was the latest involving protected wildlife.
In February, the California couple reached a plea agreement in Butte County, California. After hearing that wildlife officers on planes were once bragging about how they illegally hunted mountain lions and smuggled the skulls of their carry-bags, they violated the laws of fish and games.
