SC father, son sentenced in international rare turtle smuggling scheme
By John Monk and
Sammy Fretwell
sfretwell@thestate.com
Sammy Fretwell
COLUMBIA, SC
A South Carolina father and son were sentenced to probation Friday in federal court for their roles in an international turtle smuggling scheme that handled hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of the little reptiles.
The father and son — William “Bill” Fischer, 48, and Matt Fischer, 26, of Harleyville in Dorchester County — played minor roles in what prosecutors have described as a thriving smuggling operation. According to evidence in the case, which involved at least 10 other people, the Fischers received packages containing money or smuggled wildlife.
“This is not a frivolous crime, not something to be taken lightly,” said U.S. Judge Joe Anderson, who noted that a lot of turtles died while being transported in and out of the country.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Holliday did not object to the light sentences, which the Fischers’ attorneys, Mike Duncan and Ittriss Jenkins, requested.
Matt Fischer, who earlier had pleaded guilty to the felony charge of wildlife conspiracy, received six months home detention with a GPS monitor and two years probation. He allowed people in the smuggling ring to send funds to his bank account, prosecutors said.
Bill Fischer, who was hardly involved at all, had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of illegally buying prohibited wildlife, received a $1,000 fine and probation with no home detention. He had bought two rare Indian Star Tortoises for his 13-year-old daughter.
Indian Star Tortoises, which have bold starlike markings on their shells, can sell for more than $2,000 each in legal wildlife markets. Found in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they are listed as endangered in a multinational agreement that protects them and other wildlife and rare plants from being over-exploited.
Ringleaders in the case have yet to be sentenced.
Federal agents from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case, which involved a probe of illegal wildlife trading between Hong Kong and South Carolina.
The smuggling operation involved wrapping rare turtles in socks or candy paper, then putting them in shipping containers and labeling the boxes as snacks to avoid detection.
Last year, after pleading guilty in federal court, Matt Fischer told a State reporter that he unwittingly became mixed up in the operation when one of the South Carolina ringleaders, Steven Baker, a longtime friend, asked to use his bank account to receive money.
Baker pleaded guilty last year to wildlife conspiracy charges and is currently awaiting sentencing.
Federal officials got involved in the case in 2016 when inspectors opened packages at New York’s JFK International Airport and found 48 endangered Chinese and South American turtles nestled in piles of candy and noodles. A New York man arrested in connection with that case told authorities about the South Carolina connection.
On Friday, Judge Anderson told Matt Fischer, who has a job and a four-year-old son, he could have sentenced him to a year behind bars but chose not to. “Young man, I don’t think you need to go off to prison,” Anderson said.
This story was originally published March 1, 2019 at 1:58 PM.
John Monk has covered courts, crime, politics, public corruption, the environment and other issues in the Carolinas for more than 40 years. A U.S. Army veteran who covered the 1989 American invasion of Panama, Monk is a former Washington correspondent for The Charlotte Observer. He has covered numerous death penalty trials, including those of the Charleston church killer, Dylann Roof, serial killer Pee Wee Gaskins and child killer Tim Jones. Monk’s hobbies include hiking, books, languages, music and a lot of other things.
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