A Maine man pleaded guilty to trafficking whale and bird parts in U.S. District Court in Portland on Tuesday, following a lengthy investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Sergey Bachkovsky, of Greene, was accused of importing wildlife items from Eastern Europe and selling them online between June 2023 and March 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice said in an announcement on Tuesday.
Bachkovsky’s actions violated the Lacey Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, according to court documents.
At least some of the sales were made to an undercover Fish and Wildlife Service agent, according to a court document filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in August.
Items sold included sperm whale and marine mammal teeth, blue whale and Antarctic minke whale ear bones and a broad-winged hawk carcass.
An undercover Fish and Wildlife Service agent made contact with Bachkovsky about a whale ear bone he had listed on eBay in the summer of 2023, according to the court document.
“Over a series of emails, the agent referenced (the) whale’s protected status and need for paperwork,” the document states. “Bachkovsky agreed to sell him one raw and one scrimshaw whale ear bone for $680.”
Bachkovsky mailed the agent the bones from Maine to New York in July 2023, according to the document, listing his name and address on the package, with eBay and financial records confirming his identity.
The undercover agent contacted Bachkovsky again in December of that year, negotiating a sale of 21 raw whale teeth and a scrimshaw whale tooth for $635, the document says. Bachkovsky shipped them later that month and the Fish and Wildlife Service later identified 15 of the teeth as sperm whale teeth and the other seven as marine mammal teeth.
The undercover agent made contact with Bachkovsky again in January 2024, the document states, negotiating a deal for whale teeth and bear paws. In a recorded conversation, the agent warned that some of the items Bachkovsky was advertising on eBay were protected, the document says.
Bachkovsky agreed to sell the agent five whale teeth for $300 and four bear paws for $300, in addition to shipping fees, the document states, and mailed them later that month.
“Agents observed him drive the package from his house to the post office,” the document states.
The undercover agent made another acquisition in February of that year, the court document states, and on June 13, 2024, agents executed a search warrant at Bachkovsky’s residence.
Wildlife items seized from Bachkovsky included marine mammal and bear teeth, whale vertebrae and the feathers and wings of eagles, hawks, owls and vultures.
Bachkovsky faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison with three years of supervised release and a fine up to $250,000. He is to be sentenced at a later date, the DOJ said in its announcement on Tuesday.
