A Dutchess County man was arrested after authorities say he was illegally selling sharks out of his basement.

Joshua Seguine, age 38, from LaGrangeville was arrested and charged with keeping and trying to sell seven sandbar sharks. According to the Attorney General, Seguine was keeping the fish in an inground pool that was set up in his basement. The sharks are a protected species in New York State.

Authorities say that they were first alerted to Seguine back in 2017 when he was allegedly found with five sharks in the trunk of his car. At the time, officers say that the LaGrangeville man admitted that he was transporting the fish to New York where he was planning to sell them.

The DEC obtained a search warrant and say they discovered the above ground pool in the basement of Seguine's home filled with sharks. In addition, they also allege to have discovered two dead Leopard Sharks, one dead Hammerhead Shark, and the snout of an endangered Smalltooth Sawfish.

DEC Commissioner, Basil Seggos, says it's not just about breaking the law,

Harboring and selling protected species for one’s personal financial gain is not only illegal, it’s immoral. I applaud the work of DEC’s Bureau of Environmental Crimes, Environmental Conservation Police Officers, and Division of Marine Resources for the investigation that brought these crimes to light and the work of the Attorney General’s office that is bringing this individual to justice

Biologists from two different aquariums were on hand to assess the sharks, which were eventually moved to the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. Seguine was arraigned on Tuesday in the Town of LaGrange Justice Court and released under the supervision of probation. He is due back in court on April 16.

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