MIAMI, Fla. — A Florida man was sentenced to prison on Friday (May 24) for conspiring to export thousands of turtles to Germany and Hong Kong illegally.
According to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), John Michael Kreatsoulas, 36, of Alva, Florida, owned the unregistered Florida business Omni Reptiles, Inc. from July 2015 to July 2021. He was in the business of allegedly selling and shipping wildlife, including protected species of reptiles, the DOJ said.
The DOJ said that Kreatsoulas would reportedly capture species of turtles, including three-stripe mud turtles and Florida mud turtles, from the wild in Florida and sell them to interstate and foreign customers. He also allegedly falsified documents, saying that the turtles were captive-bred and not wild-caught.
Kreatsoulas previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic wildlife and nine counts of falsifying records in violation of the Lacey Act, the DOJ said.
Kreatsoulas was sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine. He was also ordered to not engage in any commercial activity involving wildlife.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
