SPRING HILL, Fla. \- A Spring Hill man has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for Lacey Act trafficking of Florida box turtles, loggerhead musk turtles, and ornate diamondback terrapins.
The Court also permanently enjoined Kevin Olbrych, 48, Spring Hill, from possessing, caring for, transporting, selling, transferring, or distributing any animals and ordered him to pay $7,500 to the Lacey Act Reward Fund.
The Lacey Act Reward Fund is a Congressionally authorized fund available to pay for the care, treatment, and rehabilitation of wildlife pending their disposition at the conclusion of civil and criminal matters and to compensate witnesses and cooperators in criminal investigations.
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Olbrych entered a guilty plea on November 17, 2023.
According to court documents, the Tampa Police Department executed an unrelated search warrant at Olbrych’s residence in 2018. During the search, law enforcement discovered several 300-gallon pools filled with turtles and other containers for turtle rearing.
Olbrych unlawfully possessed 120 turtles in total. The animals were not housed properly, and Olbrych did not have proper licensure to possess them. Law enforcement confiscated the turtles and turned them over to an individual qualified to rehabilitate them on behalf of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
After the search, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began investigating Olbrych and discovered that for years he had illegally sold turtles to a co-conspirator in Oregon who later sold them to buyers in China.
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Further investigation revealed that even after law enforcement seized the turtles from Olbrych’s home in 2018, he continued to traffic in turtles through 2021, including the ornate diamondback terrapin depicted below.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the Tampa Police Department and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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