The guy who threw a rock at the Monk Seal is now claiming he was trying to save sea turtles

Igor Lytvynchuk, the Ukrainian businessman who threw a coconut-sized rock at an endangered Hawaiian monk seal named Lani on a beach in Maui and then told bystanders “I don’t care, I’m rich. Fine me. I can pay for it,” has finally offered his defense through his attorney.

He was trying to save sea turtles.

Sea Turtles so you throw a rock at a monk seal? Come on man lol

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, the man who went viral for throwing a rock at an endangered monk seal, claims he was actually protecting a pair of turtles.

He believed the seal was going to eat the turtles and says he threw a rock to scare it off. pic.twitter.com/IxXFGQeP7p

— Pubity (@pubity) May 17, 2026

That’s the defense. That’s what they went with. His lawyer Myles Breiner told Hawaii media that Lytvynchuk saw two large turtles in the water, thought the monk seal was pushing the turtles off of rocks, and threw the rock to scare the seal away. He allegedly “had no idea the significance of monk seals” and “frankly didn’t know we had seals in Hawaii.”

I need a minute with this one. In the meantime, here’s the first post about this dummy if you need to catch up.

A Ukrainian businessman threw a rock at an endangered monk seal named Lani in Hawaii, got beat up by a local, and a state senator gave the guy who beat him up an award >>

The Sea Turtle Defense Is the Worst Legal Strategy I’ve Ever Heard

So the story is that Igor, a man who traveled thousands of miles to Hawaii to enjoy the natural beauty of the islands, saw a monk seal interacting with sea turtles and decided the appropriate course of action was to hurl a massive rock at the Lani the monk seal’s head.

Not call wildlife officials. Not ask a local. Not walk away. He grabbed a coconut-sized rock and launched it at a federally protected endangered animal because he thought he was doing something good.

Then when bystanders confronted him about it, instead of explaining his noble sea turtle rescue mission, he said “I don’t care, I’m rich. Fine me.” That’s an interesting thing to say when you’re supposedly acting out of concern for marine wildlife. Most people who are trying to help endangered monk seals don’t immediately brag about their wealth when questioned about their methods.

Breiner also pushed back on the idea that Lytvynchuk is actually wealthy, claiming the “I’m rich” comment was made because he was embarrassed by people yelling at him and “doubled down.”

So the defense is that Igor isn’t actually rich, he just said he was rich because he was embarrassed, and also he wasn’t trying to hurt the seal, he was trying to save turtles.

Got it. Really airtight stuff here.

His PR Firm Asked Me to Remove His Name

I had someone from Igor’s crisis management team reach out to me asking me to remove his name from my last article about this. I responded and asked why he threw a rock at the monk seal and whether they had seen the video. No response. Just silence.

The PR firm handling his case is Red Banyan, which markets itself as one of the world’s leading crisis management agencies. Their baseline retainer is reportedly around $10,000. His attorney Breiner has represented the founder of Hawaii’s Proud Boys chapter and a former Honolulu police chief indicted for bank fraud and identity theft.

These are not cheap professionals. For a guy whose defense is that he’s not actually rich, Igor is spending a lot of money on lawyers and crisis management firms to handle the fallout from a rock he threw at a seal on a beach.

The maximum combined fine for the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act violations is $70,000. By the time Igor is done paying Breiner’s legal fees, Red Banyan’s crisis management retainer, and whatever other costs come with fighting federal charges while simultaneously trying to scrub your name from the internet, the total bill is going to make that $70,000 fine look like a parking ticket.

Nobody Is Buying This

The video exists. Everyone has seen it. Igor threw a large rock at Lani the endangered monk seal on a beach in Maui. Bystanders confronted him. He said he was rich and didn’t care about the fine. He got beaten up by a local who received a letter of recognition from a state senator. The video went viral. Federal charges were filed. Now a crisis management firm is trying to scrub his name from the internet while his attorney tells reporters he was actually performing an amateur sea turtle rescue operation.

Nobody believes this. The video doesn’t show a man concerned about sea turtles. It shows a man throwing a rock at a seal. The “I’m rich, fine me” comment doesn’t sound like someone who just made an innocent mistake. It sounds like someone who thought his money made him untouchable.

Igor, if you’re reading this, which you might be since your team is apparently monitoring every article written about you, get a new lawyer. The sea turtle defense is genuinely one of the most pathetic legal strategies I’ve ever seen.

You threw a rock at an endangered monk seal named Lani, bragged about being rich, got your ass kicked on a beach, and now you’re hiding behind a crisis management firm and a defense attorney whose best argument is that you were confused about Hawaiian wildlife.

Own it or shut up. The sea turtle thing isn’t fooling anyone.

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