That box of chocolates sent illegally in the mail was really live scorpions, feds say

An Oregon man pleaded guilty to federal charges after he was accused of illegally importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions, officials said.

According to court documents, the 39-year-old Eugene man “bought, sold, and traded scorpions in violation of United States import, export, and domestic mailing laws.”

From around October 2017 to March 2018, prosecutors said he conspired with others to import live scorpions between the U.S. and Germany. He “falsely labeled scorpions as chocolates” on one package intercepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to court documents.

He also ”mailed or received several hundred live scorpions” between Oregon and other U.S. states, including Michigan and Texas, officials said. Doing so was “in violation of federal mailing laws,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon said in a March 14 news release.

The man, a “scorpion enthusiast,” transported live scorpions between different locations without an Import/Export License from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, court documents said.

On Feb. 23, he was charged with conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, a law that bans trafficking illegal wildlife, prosecutors said.

He faces a maximum sentence of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release, the news release said. He will be sentenced on June 22.

The man’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.

This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 6:13 PM with the headline "That box of chocolates sent illegally in the mail was really live scorpions, feds say."