A Franklinville man was sentenced to a year-and-a-half in prison and three years of post-release supervision after he pled guilty to supplying turtles to middlemen that smuggled them to Asia.

Jesse James Freeman, 48, will also have to pay a $25,000 fine to the Lacey Act Reward Fund, ordered by a judge.

The judge also prohibited Freeman from owning wild-caught wildlife and any wildlife without documentation of origin during the supervisory period.

Court documents showed that Freeman collected the turtles himself and hired poachers to illegally obtain them throughout North Carolina.

They said Freeman trafficked 722 Eastern Box Turtles, 122 Spotted Turtles and three Wood Turtles.

Documents showed Freeman received at least $121,000 for the turtles and the market value in Asia for those turtles exceeded $1.5 million.

The Eastern Box Turtle is the N.C. state reptile and collectors prize them in domestic and foreign pet trade market.