Dutchess County Man Convicted After Selling Sharks From Home
A Hudson Valley man has been convicted after selling rare sharks out of his pool.
If you're not familiar with this story, lets break it down for you.
Back in 2019, Joshua Seguine was arrested for attempting to sell 7 sandbar sharks out of his above ground pool, in his basement at his home in LaGrange.
According to ABC7 NY, the attorney general says that in 2017 Seguine was arrested by the Department of Natural Resources in Georgia and admitted to transporting sharks to New York with the intention of selling them on the internet.
Reports came in, in July of 2019, that Seguine was in possession of the 7 sharks, including two dead leopard sharks, one dead hammerhead shark, and the snout of a smalltooth sawfish along with several sand bar sharks in his 18-foot above ground pool.
On Wednesday, March 17th, Seguine, 40, was convicted Town of LaGrange Justice Court of "illegal trafficking and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine" as stated in a report by ABC7 NY.
Basil Seggos, the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation, said in a statement:
"I applaud the work of our environmental conservation police officers, who spearheaded the investigation that resulted in Joshua Seguine being brought to justice. It is critical that we work to protect endangered species that are taken from their natural habitats and sold for profit."
Sand bar sharks cost close to $11,500 to purchase.
When the sharks were found in 2019, they were safely transported to different facilities throughout New York including the New York Aquarium and Coney Island.