Three men are facing federal charges after prosecutors say they illegally imported shark parts from Australia into Norfolk for a traveling museum exhibit.
A federal grand jury indictment unsealed in May 2026 accuses James Avery, Angelo Petardi and Robert Aspinall of conspiracy, smuggling and Lacey Act violations. Prosecutors say the alleged scheme took place between 2019 and 2020. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Avery served as Head of Exhibitions for Grande Exhibitions, the Australian company that owned and operated the Planet Shark exhibit. Petardi was the majority shareholder of On Show Solutions, an Australian-based shipping company. Aspinall was the owner and CEO of The Shipping Monster, LLC, a freight forwarding company based in the United States.
Prosecutors allege that the defendants knew that proper export permits from the Australian government were required to legally import the exhibit into the United States — and that obtaining those permits was not possible because many of the shark parts had been harvested in violation of the law.
Investigators searched through the suspect’s emails and used that as evidence in the case in an effort to show they were allegedly aware of the violations.
Court records state the exhibit arrived at the Port of Norfolk in approximately on May 11, 2020 and customs paperwork was submitted falsely listing the Planet Shark exhibit as "goods returning to the United States," with no disclosure that the shipment contained wildlife or CITES-protected parts.
Craig Hoover, Executive Vice President of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, described what the charges involve.
"Moving shark parts and products across international borders without complying with Australian law, with U.S. law, and with this international treaty called CITES," Hoover said.
CITES — the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora — is a treaty among 183 countries that regulates the international trade of wildlife. Experts say the protections exist because shark populations are under serious pressure worldwide.
"What we're seeing globally are steep declines in shark populations, and over the last several years," said Erica Lyman, a professor at Lewis and Clark Law School. "There is a massive and ongoing global illegal trade in sharks and shark parts.”
Hoover said demand for shark products drives much of that trade.
"They are very much in demand for their meat, and particularly their fins, particularly in East Asian countries. Their fins are used for soup and for medicinal purposes," Hoover said.
The shark parts in this case were allegedly imported as part of a traveling exhibit. A display called Planet Shark: Predator or Prey was shown at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond in 2022.
We reached out to the Science Museum of Virginia regarding the exhibit that had been planned in 2020.
Courtney Moyer, the Deputy Director for Communications and Administration at the Science Museum of Virginia issued the following statement:
"The Science Museum cooperated with the investigation related to items exported in connection with Grande Exhibitions' touring exhibition. None of the items in question were displayed at the Science Museum. The Science Museum is committed to museum best practices, including responsible stewardship of collections and alignment with established professional and legal standards."
Hoover said the consequences of the illegal shark trade reach well beyond the animals themselves and says there is a need for the protections currently in place.
"I think it's important for people to know that sharks play an incredibly important role in the ecosystem and the illegal trade in sharks and shark parts and shark products undermines that role, and it has knock-on effects for many, many other species in our oceans," Hoover said.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky of the U.S. Attorney's Office in Norfolk.
Attempts to reach the suspects for comment were unsuccessful.
