Stolen From Florida Swamps, Bound for Taiwan: How a California Man Allegedly Used False Records to Traffic Protected Turtles — And Then Tried to Cover It All Up
A Daly City man has been arrested on federal charges accusing him of conspiring to traffic protected turtles and falsifying records to obtain an export permit, authorities said.
Donald Do was charged in connection with an alleged scheme to export 292 loggerhead musk turtles to Taiwan between December 2022 and May 2024, according to federal prosecutors. Investigators allege Do falsely claimed he had hatched and raised the turtles himself, allowing a co-conspirator to secure an export permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Authorities say Do then purchased additional turtles that had been poached from the wild in Florida and elsewhere and tried to obtain more, telling sellers he would accept wild-caught animals and directing that shipments be sent to San Francisco. Prosecutors also allege that Do and a California accomplice tried to obtain more than 200 turtles from a Louisiana man who was later detained in a separate trafficking case.
When the attempted export did not succeed, prosecutors say Do tried to conceal his role by telling the California co-conspirator that the turtles had been sold to domestic buyers.
Loggerhead musk turtles were added to the list of protected species in November 2022. Under the Lacey Act, it is illegal to make false statements about wildlife involved in interstate or international commerce or to transport wildlife taken in violation of state law. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issues permits for species protected under the international wildlife trade treaty known as CITES.
Do faces charges of conspiracy and Lacey Act violations. If convicted, he could receive up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.
A bond hearing is scheduled for May 21, with a status conference set for July 31.
The charges are allegations, and Do is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Crude Oil, Clear Ruling: Environmentalists Lose Fight Over Santa Ynez Unit — As 60,000 Barrels a Day Head Toward Production and California’s Coastline Waits
A federal judge in California has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s handling of Sable Offshore Corp.’s oil and gas operations at the Santa Ynez Unit in the Santa Barbara Channel.
The U.S. District Court for the Central District of California threw out the case brought by the Center for Biological Diversity, ending a challenge that sought to force the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to require Sable to revise its development and production plan. The court found the plaintiffs’ claimed injury was not grounded in the statute, was not tied to any action by the bureau and could not be fixed by a court order.
The dispute centered on a BOEM decision issued in April 2025 concluding that Sable was not required to revise its plan under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The environmental group then sued, arguing the agency should have demanded a revised plan. The court rejected that argument, noting among other things that the plaintiffs relied on a part of the law dealing with approval of a development and production plan, not revision of an existing one.
The Justice Department said the ruling reflects the proper reading of federal law and supports domestic energy production. Federal officials also linked the case to the Trump administration’s push to expand American energy development.
“This decision is a clear-eyed interpretation of federal law in keeping with the Supreme Court’s instruction in Loper Bright to follow the best interpretation of statutes,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Our defense of BOEM’s decision supports domestic energy production in furtherance of President Donald J. Trump’s directive to unleash American energy.”
Separately, Sable Offshore was ordered to resume petroleum transportation through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System under a March 13 order from Energy Secretary Chris Wright. Since then, the company has been moving about 30,000 barrels of oil per day, with output expected to rise to 60,000 barrels a day.
The ruling removes one legal obstacle facing the project, though other challenges to Sable’s operations remain possible.
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