California Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Importing Wild Animals

Jose Manuel Perez, a resident of Oxnard, California, pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to illegally importing over 1,700 wild animals, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said. The illegally smuggled animals include over 60 reptiles that were found hidden in his clothes at the U.S.-Mexico border. Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling goods into the U.S. and one count of wildlife trafficking.

From 2016 to 2022, Perez used social media to arrange for the wildlife to be smuggled into the U.S., usually from Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The animals were imported from Mexico and Hong Kong without being declared to a customs official or without a permit required by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Perez had the animals sent to his family's house in Ventura County, California, where they were resold to customers around the U.S. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each smuggling count and a maximum of five years for the wildlife trafficking count. Perez's sister and co-defendant, Stephany, also of Oxnard, is scheduled to go on trial in this case in February.