A Lilburn piano company will be closely monitored over the next three years and pay hefty fines for illegally importing elephant ivory, according to federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Richard W. Story sentenced Pascal Vieillard, the 49-year-old chief executive officer of A440 Pianos, to three years on probation Wednesday. He was ordered to pay a $17,500 fine.
The company must also pay a $17,500 fine. It will remain on probation for three years.
A440 Pianos and Vieillard pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of violating the Lacey Act, a national wildlife law, in November.
"Because they chose not to follow the law, in addition to having federal convictions, the company and its CEO will be monitored closely for several years and will pay hefty fines," U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said in a statement Wednesday.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials say worldwide demand for ivory remains strong even though elephants are an internationally protected species.
Federal agents discovered the ivory in 2009, when they inspected one of the A440 Piano's shipments in the port of Charleston, S.C. Accompanying documentation declared 10 of the 11 pianos had no ivory keys. But agents looking over the pianos noticed keyboards or individual keys had been removed from seven of them.
Investigators found the ivory-covered keys underneath other items in separate crates.
The website for A440 Pianos says it has a been a leading provider of new and vintage pianos for more than a decade, with clients worldwide.
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