TAMPA, Fla. — A Florida man known as “the Monkey Whisperer” faces up to 20+ years in prison if convicted on charges spelled out in an indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.
Prosecutors say 57-year-old Jimmy Wayne Hammonds, of Parrish, is charged with conspiracy, trafficking, and submitting a false record in violation of the Lacey Act – which bans the trade of wildlife that was illegally taken, owned, transported or sold.
United States Attorney Maria Chapa Lopez's Office says Hammonds owned and operated The Monkey Whisperer, LLC, which investigators say was breeding and selling wildlife.
Authorities say, a few years ago, Hammonds conspired to sell a capuchin monkey to a buyer in California and organized for the animal to be transported across the country by people who weren't permitted to have that species in either state. The monkey was eventually seized by authorities at the home of the California buyer, prosecutors say.
The indictment also accuses Hammonds of illegally selling endangered cotton-top tamarins to buyers in Alabama, South Carolina and Wisconsin.
"Hammonds allegedly concealed his unlawful wildlife trafficking by submitting false records to a law enforcement officer and attempted to persuade a witness to lie to a law enforcement officer," the Department of Justice wrote in a news release.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife all worked together on the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin McDonell.
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