COLUMBUS, Ohio — A West Virginia man Thursday pleaded guilty to multiple charges of illegally trafficking in ginseng.

According to court documents, Tony Lee Coffman, 59, of Birch River, West Virginia, purchased American ginseng roots that had been illegally transported in interstate commerce from Ohio to West Virginia and falsified records relating to the purchase of Ohio ginseng.

American ginseng is protected in over 20 states due to heavy pressures from international trade and is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Coffman, indicted in August 2022 in Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to five Lacey Act violations.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Each Lacey Act violation has a statutory maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement.

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement investigated the case.