Buyer beware
Virginia man sentenced for selling elephant and whale ivory online in violation of the Endangered Species Act
Between November 2018 and February 2019, Gary Cooper of Fredericksburg, Virginia, sold four pieces of carved ivory to a customer in New York. The transactions took place more than two years after the U.S. imposed a near-total ban on the commercial trade in African elephant ivory, implemented in response to unprecedented levels of poaching that were diminishing populations of the largest terrestrial animals on earth.
When the customer mentioned the illegality of the trade, Cooper said he would “be discreet” when shipping the items.
The customer was discreet too. When he received the items — a carved ivory apple, a Buddha statue, a book, and a village scene — he surreptitiously sent them to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Forensics Laboratory. Scientists there confirmed what Cooper himself insisted when the customer questioned the authenticity of the products: they were all made of genuine elephant ivory.
That would turn out to be bad for business for Cooper. His customer was a special agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Today, Cooper was sentenced in Alexandria, Virginia, to twelve months of supervised probation for operating online storefronts selling elephant and whale ivory in violation of the federal Endangered Species Act. He also forfeited 136 pieces of ivory, which he had offered for sale, seized by special agents executing a search warrant at his home.
Sperm whale, Asian elephant, and African elephant — common sources of illegal ivory — have all been protected under the Act since the 1970s. In 2016, the U.S. implemented a near-total ban on the trade in African elephant ivory.
Cooper was aware of the laws, but he was also aware of the “antiques exception,” which permits the sale of items more than 100 years old that meet certain criteria. That’s why he told his customers he was selling pieces on behalf of elderly clients who were clearing out their estates.
“He was a schemester, flipping items he said were family heirlooms,” explained Special Agent Stuart Curtin, who led the investigation. “It shows that you never know who you are dealing with.”
By indulging the scheme, Curtin exposed red flags that consumers should look out for, like paperwork. Or a lack thereof.
In email conversations about the merchandise, Cooper told Curtin that many of the pieces had been brought to the U.S. decades earlier, and although the owners had them appraised, they no longer had most of the paperwork.
He said other items were brought into the U.S. legally without documentation for centuries by tourists and military personnel, “So that’s just the situation when buying 90 percent of these antique ivories.”
Another red flag was the quantity of items Cooper posted. “If you can’t find these kinds of items on the websites for legitimate auction houses, and someone is advertising tens of thousands of dollars worth of product, something isn’t right.” Curtin said. “If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
In addition to selling ivory to a special agent in New York, Cooper sold ivory to a special agent in Maryland — shipping a total of seven pieces out of Virginia over the course of a little more than two years, and offering for sale at least 50 pieces with a total market value between $40,000 and $95,000.
But the initial red flag was identified within his home state. Investigators from the Virginia Division of Wildlife Resources came across an ad Cooper had placed online selling two tusks, and forwarded it to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. What caught their attention was where the ad was posted — on a classifieds website in New York City, where the demand for ivory would be higher.
The sale and shipment of ivory across state lines is prohibited by the ESA, and by the Lacey Act, with a few exceptions that require a permit from the Service.
“The state investigators could have just dealt with this guy on their own, but they recognized the big picture,” Curtin said. “We can’t do our job without information. In this case it came from the state, but the public plays a huge role too.”
Anyone can report a wildlife crime either by email (fws_tips@fws.gov) or phone (1–844–397–8477). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is authorized to pay rewards for information or assistance that leads to an arrest, a criminal conviction, civil penalty assessment, or forfeiture of seized property.
People can also help by being more than just cautious consumers, but conscientious consumers. Whether it’s an apple or a village scene, intricate carvings mask the reality that a piece of ivory represents a butchered elephant or whale. Even ivory that looks old may be from recently poached animals.
Is the risk worth the price wildlife pay? Like Curtin said, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
