On May 31, 2018, five individuals – William McGinness, Paul Tallman, Rene Rizal, Wayne Andrews, and Alex Madriaga – were indicted in the US for conspiring to smuggle birds protected under the CITES from the US to Taiwan. According to the indictment, the group allegedly submitted false documentation to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to facilitate the illegal export of 90 protected birds, including species such as parrots, macaws, cockatoos, and corellas, from the Port of New Orleans. Some of the birds were packed in crates with misleading labels. The USFWS intercepted 14 of the birds at Houston Airport before they could be shipped. McGinness faced additional charges of bird smuggling and three counts of falsifying records under the Lacey Act, while Tallman was also charged with smuggling and one count of record falsification under the same law.