Crab Kingpin Corey Potter Caught Red-Handed in $20,000 Lacey Act Scam

A federal grand jury in Alaska has delivered the goods, indicting crab fishing kingpin Corey Potter and his crew for allegedly hauling over 7,000 pounds of Tanner and golden king crab out of state to sell for a higher price.

The indictment, handed down by the U.S. Department of Justice’s USAO in Alaska, charges Corey Potter, 40, with two counts of unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in violation of 16 U.S.C. 3372(a)(2)(A) and 3373(d)(1)(B).

Potter’s captains, Justin Welch and Kyle Potter, 34 and 36, respectively, were also charged with one count of the same crime.

The indictment alleges that in February and March 2024, Potter’s vessels harvested the crab in Southeast Alaska. Instead of landing the catch in Alaska, as required by state law, the crew took the crab through Canadian and Washington waters to Seattle, Washington, where they planned to sell it for a higher price.

But the scheme went south when a large portion of the king crab arrived deceased and unmarketable. Court documents reveal that Potter acknowledged some of the crab was infected with Bitter Crab Syndrome (BCS), a parasitic disease that’s fatal to crustaceans.

More than 4,000 pounds of Tanner crab were destroyed due to the risk of BCS infection. Had the crab been properly landed in Alaska, it would have been inspected, and infected crab would have been sorted out and disposed of before leaving the state.

If convicted, Potter and his captains face a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a $20,000 fine per count. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney S. Lane Tucker of the District of Alaska and Assistant Director Benjamin Cheeseman with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Office of Law Enforcement made the announcement.

A NOAA spokesperson confirmed that the agency’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the case, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Brickey prosecuting the charges.

It’s worth noting that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.