A Pittsburgh man faces federal criminal charges of selling endangered Asian fish, as well as invasive snakehead fish.

Anthony Nguyen, 48, who investigators say also is known as JoJo Nguyen and Jackie Lee, faces charges of interstate trafficking in illegally possessed or transported fish and creating a false record filed Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice’s environment and natural resources division in Pittsburgh.

“Snakeheads present a serious risk to our native ecosystems,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jonathan D. Brightbill in a news release. “These fish are prohibited for a reason. They are voracious predators, can live out of water for days, can move across land, and can wipe out the native species that inhabit fresh waters of the United States.”

Nguyen is charged with violating the federal Lacey Act in 2019 by selling the invasive snakehead fish.

The Lacey Act makes it unlawful to knowingly import, export, sell or buy any fish or wildlife taken in violation of any state or federal law or regulation.

While snakeheads are native to Asia, they have been introduced into freshwater habitats in this country. Pennsylvania law prohibits possession snakeheads. They are considered to be aggressive, the indictment said.

The indictment also accuses Nguyen of violating the Lacey Act in 2016, when he sold illegally imported Asian arowana, known as dragon fish or Asian bony tongue fish.

According to the Department of Justice, arowana are the most expensive freshwater fish on earth, with some specimens selling for tens of thousands of dollars.

Arowana, the indictment said, is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

They are popular among collectors on the black market, the indictment said.

Federal prosecutors said that Nguyen sold the arowana on April 19, 2016.

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