Anaheim Couple Sentenced to Probation for Wildlife Trafficking Between Oregon and Vietnam

Linh Luu and Kevin Le, a married couple from Anaheim, California, pleaded guilty in federal court in Eugene, Oregon, to violating the Lacey Act and were each sentenced to three years' probation and a $10,000 fine, the Justice Department said on October 23, 2026.

According to the department, the couple admitted that from September 2019 through May 2021 they processed $51,100 in payments to help an individual in Vietnam illegally move wildlife items to and from Oregon. The department said American black bear gallbladders and cougar bones were shipped to Vietnam, while lion teeth, black and white rhinoceros horn segments and a tiger pelt were imported to Oregon.

A government sentencing submission stated that in December 2020 the couple met an undercover federal agent in a parking lot, accepted $12,000 in cash as a down payment for part of a rhino horn and discussed ways to avoid U.S. banking regulations. The horn segment was later shipped to Oregon disguised as a household decoration, the department said.

According to the department, all of the species involved are listed under the CITES treaty, which prohibits trade without a permit, and the defendants did not have one. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated with help from Homeland Security Investigations and the Oregon State Police.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/398