New York Man Convicted Of Illegally Raising Sharks In 18-Foot Basement Pool

A New York man pleaded guilty and was recently convicted of illegally trafficking wildlife after he was caught raising sharks in a pool so he could sell them online.

In August 2017, officers with the Department of Environmental Conservation found seven sandbar sharks in an 18-foot above-ground pool in the basement of Joshua Seguine’s home in LaGrangeville.

Sandbar sharks, which cost almost $12,000 when legally purchased, are a protected species that require a special license to own, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported.

The animals are each measured between two and four feet long and are now living in the New York Aquarium in Coney Island, Brooklyn.

Police also recovered the snout of a smalltooth sawfish, an endangered species, as well as the carcasses of several sharks, including a hammerhead and two leopard sharks.

Investigators made the discovery after Seguine, 40, was stopped in Georgia with five sharks in a tank in his truck. He admitted to police he was bringing them to New York, where he was going to list them for sale on a website, officials said.

“Trafficking protected species is unlawful and ultimately harmful to the wildlife,” Attorney General Letitia James said in a 2019 statement, according to Buffalo’s WGRZ. “My office will continue to partner with DEC and use every tool at our disposal to protect vulnerable species and hold to account those who seek to profit from their suffering.”

Seguine was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.