Two indicted for selling over $30K in illegal elephant ivory through online
business based in Long Island
Dean Balsamini, New York Post
Published June 29, 2024
See link
https://nypost.com/2024/06/29/us-news/2-indicted-for-selling-illegal-elephant-ivory/
for photos.
Two people have been indicted for selling thousands of dollars’ worth of
illegal elephant ivory through online auctions.
Between April 2020 and May 2023, Grace Hu and Yincheng Wu allegedly
operated Merces, an online auction business, out of an office on Long
Island, according to court records.
Through Merces, Hu, 45, of Flushing, Queens, and Wu, 33, of Great Neck,
advertised and sold elephant ivory carvings, including carved tusks,
evading detection by advertising their products as “rare material” rather
than elephant ivory, prosecutors said.
The scheme began to unravel when the pair sold ivory products to an
undercover state Department of Environmental Conservation officer on three
separate occasions, including: a carved elephant tusk for $31,950; a set of
elephant ivory rosary beads for $4,800 and three elephant ivory figurines
for $2,640.
The duo conducted auctions both on their website and LiveAuctioneers.com,
prosecutors said.
The undercover officer purchased the ivory rosary, labeled “Chinese
gold-inlaid rare material 18-counts rosary,” during an auction on the Live
Auctioneers website, authorities said.
After a joint probe by New York authorities and the Department of Homeland
Security, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized MercesGallery.com
and the two were indicted.
“Yincheng Wu and Grace Hu allegedly sold thousands of dollars’ worth of
illegal ivory, harming an already endangered species by perpetuating the
illicit market for ivory,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“Those who partake in the illegal ivory trade will be held accountable.”
Wu, Hu and Merces Gallery LL were each charged in Manhattan Supreme Court
with three counts of illegal commercialization of wildlife, Bragg announced
June 14.
Wu and Hu pleaded not guilty at arraignment and were released on their own
recognizance, court records state.
https://nypost.com/2024/06/29/us-news/2-indicted-for-selling-illegal-elephant-ivory/
Two indicted for selling over $30K in illegal elephant ivory through online
business based in Long Island
Dean Balsamini, New York Post
Published June 29, 2024
See link
<https://nypost.com/2024/06/29/us-news/2-indicted-for-selling-illegal-elephant-ivory/>
for photos.
Two people have been indicted for selling thousands of dollars’ worth of
illegal elephant ivory through online auctions.
Between April 2020 and May 2023, Grace Hu and Yincheng Wu allegedly
operated Merces, an online auction business, out of an office on Long
Island, according to court records.
Through Merces, Hu, 45, of Flushing, Queens, and Wu, 33, of Great Neck,
advertised and sold elephant ivory carvings, including carved tusks,
evading detection by advertising their products as “rare material” rather
than elephant ivory, prosecutors said.
The scheme began to unravel when the pair sold ivory products to an
undercover state Department of Environmental Conservation officer on three
separate occasions, including: a carved elephant tusk for $31,950; a set of
elephant ivory rosary beads for $4,800 and three elephant ivory figurines
for $2,640.
The duo conducted auctions both on their website and LiveAuctioneers.com,
prosecutors said.
The undercover officer purchased the ivory rosary, labeled “Chinese
gold-inlaid rare material 18-counts rosary,” during an auction on the Live
Auctioneers website, authorities said.
After a joint probe by New York authorities and the Department of Homeland
Security, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized MercesGallery.com
and the two were indicted.
“Yincheng Wu and Grace Hu allegedly sold thousands of dollars’ worth of
illegal ivory, harming an already endangered species by perpetuating the
illicit market for ivory,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
“Those who partake in the illegal ivory trade will be held accountable.”
Wu, Hu and Merces Gallery LL were each charged in Manhattan Supreme Court
with three counts of illegal commercialization of wildlife, Bragg announced
June 14.
Wu and Hu pleaded not guilty at arraignment and were released on their own
recognizance, court records state.
https://nypost.com/2024/06/29/us-news/2-indicted-for-selling-illegal-elephant-ivory/
