A Florida man has pleaded guilty to attempting to “illegally export thousands of turtles” to other countries. 36 year old John Kreatsoulas was the owner of Omni Reptiles, an unregistered Florida business in Lee County. Prosecutors say between 2015 and 2021, Kreatsoulas and his associates captured various species of turtles from the wild, including Three-Stripe mud turtles, and then shipped them to customers in the U.S. and foreign countries through the Miami International Airport. He claimed they were captive-bred. Kreatsoulas has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic wildlife and nine counts of falsifying records, and violating the Lacey Act, which prohibits trafficking in illegally taken wildlife. His sentenceing is now set for May 17th, when Kreatsoulas could get up to five years in prison for each count, amounting to a maximum total of 50 years.