That’s the elephant in the room.
Two people have been charged with selling thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal ivory in online auctions.
According to court records, Grace Hu and Yingchen Wu allegedly ran the online auction business, Merces, from an office on Long Island between April 2020 and May 2023.
According to prosecutors, Hu, 45, of Flushing, Queens, and Wu, 33, of Great Neck, advertised and sold ivory carvings, including carved tusks, through Marces and avoided prosecution by advertising the products as “rare materials” rather than ivory.
The scheme began to unravel when the pair made three separate sales of ivory items to an undercover state Department of Environmental Conservation agent: one carved ivory tusk ($31,950), one set of ivory rosaries ($4,800), and three ivory figurines ($2,640).
Prosecutors said the pair ran the auctions both on their own website and on LiveAuctioneers.com.
Authorities said the undercover agent purchased an ivory rosary labeled “rare 18-strand gold inlaid rosary made in China” during an auction on the LiveAuction website.
Following a joint investigation by New York authorities and the Department of Homeland Security, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office seized MercesGallery.com and the two were indicted.
“Ying-chen Wu and Grace Fu are accused of selling thousands of dollars’ worth of illegal ivory and harming an already endangered species by perpetuating an illegal ivory market,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “Those involved in the illegal ivory trade will be held accountable.”
On June 14, Bragg announced that Wu, Hu and Marses Gallery LL had each been indicted in Manhattan Supreme Court on three counts of illegal commercialization of wildlife.
According to court records, Wu and Hu pleaded not guilty at their arraignments and were released on bail.
