A Texas woman faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine for allegedly “smuggling rare Vietnamese chickens” into the United States.
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, authorities took Jennifer Mayo into federal custody for “smuggling merchandise into the United States and illegal transfer of merchandise.”
“According to the indictment, returned May 22, it is illegal to import poultry into the United States from regions where pathogenic avian influenza or Newcastle disease exist in commercial poultry populations unless specific conditions are met,” the press release read.
“Mayo allegedly imported and brought into the United States Dong Tao Chicken eggs,” it added.
“Authorities said they seized and euthanized the chickens due to their health,” KIII 3 News said in July.
Jennifer Mayo of Aransas Pass turned herself in to authorities on June 27. Authorities said they seized and euthanized the chickens due to their health. https://t.co/hvSTsrMGii
— KIII 3 News (@kiii3news) July 1, 2024
From the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas:
She is also charged with illegal importation and transfer of merchandise. Mayo allegedly facilitated the transportation and concealment of merchandise imported contrary to law – Dong Tao chicken eggs and hatchlings.
ADVERTISEMENTThe indictment also includes a notice of forfeiture for the chickens and eggs.
As part of the investigation, authorities seized the chickens mentioned in the indictment. Due to their health, they had to be euthanized and are being held pending further investigation and evaluation.
If convicted, Mayo faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
RedState writer Jeff Charles shared further details about Mayo’s story.
“Meet Jennifer Mayo, a chicken farmer in South Texas who had her life turned upside down after armed federal agents raided her home over chicken eggs. Jennifer started with a handful of chickens and grew her business into a thriving operation featuring rare breeds like the Dong Tao. But after bringing eggs back from Vietnam—openly and with no objections at customs—her farm was raided by 40 armed agents. They killed her prized birds and shut down her farm,” Charles wrote.
“Now, she’s facing federal charges that could result in a 20-year prison sentence. Jennifer says she’s innocent. ‘I believed I was following the rules. Customs let me through, and I assumed everything was fine.’ Her court-appointed attorney pressured her to take a plea deal without even giving her the discovery materials. He sprung the deal on her the day before she was required to sign it,” he added.
Meet Jennifer Mayo, a chicken farmer in South Texas who had her life turned upside down after armed federal agents raided her home over chicken eggs.
Jennifer started with a handful of chickens and grew her business into a thriving operation featuring rare breeds like the Dong… pic.twitter.com/0hmav2Ledl
— Jeff Charles, Doni’s St. Bernard
(@jeffcharlesjr) November 23, 2024
Per RedState:
Mayo’s ordeal began in 2023 when she traveled to Vietnam to visit her brother. During her trip, she purchased Dong Tao eggs from a government-operated farm.
Confident that she had followed all of the rules, she brought the eggs back to the United States. She passed multiple customs inspections without an issue.
ADVERTISEMENT“I told the lady [in Vietnam], ‘I’m taking these eggs to America if they let me,’ and she was like, ‘Oh, that’s great,’” Mayo recalled.
Mayo went through customs in the Philippines on her way back to Texas. The eggs were inspected before she boarded the plane. “They searched through my bags. The guy said, ‘What kind of egg is this?’ And I said, ‘It’s chicken. Chicken eggs.’ He said, ‘Okay,’ and sent me on my way.”
Mayo proceeded to LAX, where she planned to declare her possession of the eggs.
“I get to LAX, still nothing… It was completely my intent to declare them,” she said, adding that she didn’t see a single customs agent as the airport was under construction. “What I had read on the website for customs was that it was at the discretion of the customs agent. So I was like, ‘If they let me through, they let me through. If they don’t, I had a wonderful experience on this trip,” she said.
Excited about her purchase, Mayo told her friends on Facebook about the process. But the excitement would soon turn to horror.
A team of heavily armed federal agents raided Mayo’s farm in July 2023. The officers also detained her tenants, placing them in handcuffs.
“I refuse to stand by while the federal government tramples Jennifer Mayo’s rights. This small farmer turned her passion into a thriving business, only to have armed agents raid her home, destroy her livelihood, and kill her prized Dong Tao chickens—all over eggs she brought back openly through customs. Now, they want to throw her in prison for 20 years. With your support, we can help her fight back,” X user ‘DoniTheMisfit’ wrote.
“We were successful at helping Jennifer withdraw her coerced guilty plea which exposed the incompetence of her court-appointed attorney. But the government isn’t backing down—they’re trying to force a pretrial on December 3rd and a jury trial on December 9th, rushing to convict her without giving her the fair chance every American deserves. She still doesn’t have her discovery and her court appointed attorney, again refused to give it to her,” she continued.
“The government had no authority to raid her property, kill her animals, or destroy her business. What they’ve done is theft—plain and simple. Whether they’re using a badge or a courtroom, their actions violate the 4th, 5th, and 14th Amendments. This isn’t just about Jennifer; this is about the rights of every individual to own, use, and protect their property without fear of government overreach,” she added.
I refuse to stand by while the federal government tramples Jennifer Mayo’s rights.
This small farmer turned her passion into a thriving business, only to have armed agents raid her home, destroy her livelihood, and kill her prized Dong Tao chickens—all over eggs she brought… pic.twitter.com/QpMGO6r8EF
— Doni
(@DoniTheMisfit) November 23, 2024
“Mayo is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 23, 2025,” the Department of Homeland Security wrote.
“Safeguarding American agriculture from biological threats is vital to our national security,” said HSI Houston acting Special Agent in Charge Robert Kurtz.
“HSI is committed to working alongside our partners to prevent wildlife smuggling and the illegal importation of plants or animals that might be carrying invasive pests or diseases that could threaten our food supply,” Kurtz added.
From Homeland Security Investigations:
Vietnam and Cambodia are currently listed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the U.S. agency responsible for protecting U.S. agriculture from invasive pests and diseases, as regions affected with highly pathogenic avian influenza. APHIS has also not cleared Vietnam or Cambodia as being free from Virulent Newcastle disease, a highly contagious and fatal viral disease of birds and poultry that attacks their respiratory, nervous and digestive systems and is hard to detect.
In the United States, it is illegal to import poultry from regions affected by highly pathogenic avian influenza or regions where Virulent Newcastle disease exist in commercial poultry populations, unless specific conditions are met.
The investigation uncovered that Mayo illegally smuggled 60 Dong Tao chicken eggs into the United States from Vietnam and Cambodia in August 2023 and attempted to hatch them at her home in Ingleside.
Mayo initially reported to law enforcement that all the animals that hatched had died. However, authorities conducted subsequent checks which revealed there were multiple live Dong Tao chickens on her property. Dong Tao chickens are a rare, expensive breed of chicken typical to southeast Asia. Originally from the village of Dong Tao in Vietnam, these chickens have very large legs as their identifying feature.
Jeff Charles interviewed Jennifer Mayo on “A Fresh Perspective”:
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