[MPWG] NEWS: Ginseng Poacher Sentenced to 1 Year, $50, 000 Fine (fwd)

[Olivia Kwong]

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On the front page of the Fish and Wildlife Service's Web site is this: "Ginseng 
Dealer Sentenced to Prison Term, Fine."
http://www.fws.gov/ January 15, 2010

The piece reports that Howard William Ledford of Hayesville, N.C., was 
sentenced in Federal Court to serve one year in prison for illegally selling 
and transporting wild American ginseng into Georgia. 
The three-year USFWS investigation documented the illegal sale of ginseng roots 
valued at over $109,000.  The investigation also focused on illegal take of 
bear parts. A $50,000 fine will go to the Lacey Act Reward Account.