{"id":16042,"date":"2015-09-29T20:06:31","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T03:06:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16042"},"modified":"2015-09-29T20:06:31","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T03:06:31","slug":"calif-man-who-illegally-exported-worlds-largest-freshwater-fish-extradited-from-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16042","title":{"rendered":"Calif. Man Who Illegally Exported World’s Largest Freshwater Fish Extradited From Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\"U.S.<\/a>Mexico extradited California man to face federal charges in the United States related to the illegal trafficking of the world\u2019s largest freshwater fish, a South American species known as Arapaima gigas,<\/strong>\u00a0U.S. officials announced this week.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaac Zimerman,<\/strong> 66, was extradited last week. He arrived in the United States on Sept. 24.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zimerman was charged in a 13-count indictment with using his company, the Hawthorne-based River Wonders LLC,<\/strong> to import piranhas and river stingrays into the United States, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zimerman allegedly possessed those fish in California, and then they were advertised for sale, sold to customers, and shipped to states outside of California, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The indictment also contains allegations that Zimerman engaged in additional criminal conduct related to the falsification of documents, obstruction of proceedings, false statements, and smuggling of protected Arapaima gigas from the United States while on pre-trial release.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zimerman was initially charged in 2009, along with his company and his wife, Leonor Catalina Zimerman.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

While Leonor Zimerman pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense in 2010, Isaac Zimerman fled the United States that same year after prosecutors filed additional charges alleging that he continued to illegally export fish while on bond.<\/span><\/p>\n

Special agents with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service tracked Zimerman\u2019s movements through Europe, to Israel and eventually to Mexico.<\/span><\/p>\n

On March 3, 2015, concluding a four-year manhunt, Zimerman was arrested near Metepec, Mexico, authorities said.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his flight to avoid prosecution, Zimerman changed his appearance and took other steps to avoid detection and arrest.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Mexican government permitted Zimerman to be extradited to the United States on two of the felony charges related to the illegal exportation of Arapaima gigas.<\/span><\/p>\n

“Also known as the paiche or thepirarucu, the arapaima is an air-breathing fish that plies the rain forest rivers of South America’s Amazon Basin and nearby lakes and swamps. One of the world’s largest freshwater fish, these giants can reach 9 feet long and weigh up to 440 pounds. They have a wide, scaly, gray body and a tapered head,” according to National Geographic.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

If he is convicted of the two charges in the indictment that were the subject of the extradition, Zimerman would face up to 20 years in prison.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leonor Zimerman<\/strong> plead guilty in 2010 to a misdemeanor count of illegal fish trafficking. <\/span><\/p>\n

She was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Valerie Baker Fairbank in January 2011 to 21 months of probation and was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.<\/span><\/p>\n

Isaac Zimmerman is presumed innocent until proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES Mexico extradited California man to face federal charges in the United States related to the illegal trafficking of the world\u2019s largest freshwater fish, a South American species known as Arapaima…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[1684,1341,1627,1685],"class_list":["post-16042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice","tag-arapaima-gigas","tag-mexico","tag-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service","tag-worlds-largest-freshwater-fish"],"yoast_head":"\nMan Extradited for Illegally Exporting World's Largest Fish<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mexico has extradited a California resident to face federal charges in U.S. related to the illegal trafficking of the world\u2019s largest freshwater fish\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16042\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Man Extradited for Illegally Exporting World's Largest Fish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mexico has extradited a California resident to face federal charges in U.S. related to the illegal trafficking of the world\u2019s largest freshwater fish\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16042\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-09-30T03:06:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/arapaima-fish.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"450\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=16042#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=16042\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Calif. 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