Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr., Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced on the 14th the indictment of two Chinese individuals, a man and a woman, for illegal ivory trafficking. The district attorney’s office also seized an auction website related to the suspected illegal sales.
Prosecutor Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced the indictment of Yincheng Wu, Grace Hu, and Merces Gallery LLC for allegedly illegally selling ivory worth thousands of dollars through an online auction platform. They are facing charges of three counts of illegal commercialization of wildlife in the New York State Supreme Court.
Prosecutor Bragg emphasized that such illegal transactions not only fuel the black market trade but also exacerbate the survival crisis of endangered species. Those involved in illegal ivory trade will be held accountable under the law.
HSI New York Special Agent in Charge, Ivan J. Arvelo, stated that the defendants’ actions violated state and federal laws and directly impacted already endangered species. “The illegal sale of illegally obtained ivory products puts elephants at risk of extinction, often accompanied by cruel poaching and illegal imports.”
According to court documents, Wu and Hu operated the MERCES online auction business in their office in Great Neck, New York, and engaged in illegal ivory sales from April 2020 to May 2023. They circumvented legal regulations by labeling ivory products as “rare materials.” Additionally, they registered MERCES in New York, established the website “mercesgallery.com,” and opened a commercial account at JPMorgan Chase Bank. After setting up the business, they began auctions on their website and the online platform “LiveAuctioneers.com.”
During the auctions, the merchandise promoted by Merces was discreetly described as made from “rare materials,” without explicitly mentioning ivory or rhinoceros horn. Through this method, Wu and Hu sold ivory products to an undercover officer in three separate transactions: a string of ivory prayer beads sold for $4,800, three ivory statues sold for $2,640, and a carved ivory tooth sold for $31,950.