PORTLAND, ME – Sergey Bachkovsky, of Greene, Maine, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to trafficking protected wildlife items, including whale and bird parts, in violation of the Lacey Act.
According to court records, from June 2023 to March 2024, Bachkovsky imported various wildlife items from Eastern Europe and sold them online to buyers across the United States. The items included sperm whale and marine mammal teeth, scrimshaw carvings, blue whale and Antarctic minke whale ear bones, and a broad-winged hawk carcass. A notice of forfeiture lists additional items Bachkovsky intended to sell, including bear and whale bones, and feathers and wings from eagles, hawks, owls, and vultures.
The Lacey Act prohibits trade in wildlife taken or sold in violation of federal or state law. Sperm and blue whales are protected under the Endangered Species Act, while the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act ban the sale and transport of whale and migratory bird parts without proper permits.
Bachkovsky was charged as part of Operation Raw Deal, an ongoing U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiative targeting illegal trade in whale teeth and bones.
He will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine or twice the gain or loss from the offense.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors of the DOJ’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Scott for the District of Maine.
