JACKSON, MS - A McComb man was sentenced on January 8, 2026, to 1 year of federal probation and fined $3,000 for violating federal misdemeanor wildlife law.

According to court documents, Jeffery Budziszewski, 66, possessed and sold three-toed box turtles in violation of Mississippi law and exported the turtles to the state of New York where the turtles were repackaged and exported to the country of China, in violation of federal law.

The Lacey Act, a federal law, prohibits exporting, transporting, and purchasing in interstate or foreign commerce any wildlife taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law. Three-toed box turtles are indigenous to the Mississippi River Valley and are susceptible to decline due to unlawful commercial exploitation, high nest mortality, delayed maturity and/or the illegal exotic pet trade.

Under Mississippi law, three-toed box turtles are deemed to be in need of management, and it is unlawful to offer for sale, sell, ship, or transport three-toed box turtles for financial gain without a valid commercial captive propagation permit. Budziszewski propagated captive three-toed box turtles and sold them without the required State permit. Between June and July 2020, Budziszewski exported numerous three-toed box turtles from the state of Mississippi to an individual in the state of New York where the turtles were repackaged and shipped to Hong Kong.

"My office is firmly committed to safeguarding America's wildlife," said United States Attorney J.E. Baxter Kruger. "The illegal trafficking of three-toed box turtles is precisely the kind of conduct the Lacey Act was designed to prevent. We will continue to enforce the Lacey Act and ensure that those who exploit protected wildlife, undermine conservation efforts, and place profit over the rule of law are held fully accountable."

"Three-toed box turtles are an important part of Mississippi's natural heritage, and their removal for illegal trade puts the species at serious risk while undermining conservation efforts," said Assistant Director Doug Ault, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Office of Law Enforcement. "The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will continue to pursue every link in these trafficking networks to protect vulnerable species from further decline. We will not allow profiteering to jeopardize our native wildlife."

U.S. Attorney J.E. Baxter Kruger of the Southern District of Mississippi and United States Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent in Charge Preston Fant made the announcement.

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bert Carraway prosecuted the case.