Dan Q. Lin, Marine Life Trafficking, Florida 2010

Homestead resident Dan Q. Lin, 43, was sentenced to three years’ probation for illegally trafficking in marine life, violating the federal Lacey Act.

Lin, a resident of Homestead, Florida, was sentenced to three years’ probation for conspiring to violate the federal Lacey Act by transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, and purchasing a Florida spiny lobster in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1).

Lin’s crime was linked to a previous case involving Eric Burman, 42, of Boca Raton, who was convicted of a similar charge and ordered to serve a three-year term of probation and to pay a fine of $250,000 in Case No. 14-10008-CR-KING.

According to court documents, Lin and Burman, both owners of Florida corporations, admitted to purchasing spiny lobster from harvesters in Monroe County, Florida without creating and providing trip tickets reflecting the transaction. The lobster was then transported to Burman’s corporate business premises in Pompano Beach for packing and shipping, and eventually exported to Hong Kong, China.

The charge against Lin identified a specific shipping transaction in August 2010 involving approximately 446 kilograms of illegally trafficked spiny lobster.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement and ICE-HSI, who participated in the development of this case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Watts-FitzGerald and Antonia Barnes.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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