A seafood processor in Virginia has been convicted of selling foreign crab meat falsely labeled as ‘Product of USA.’
James R. Casey, a resident of Poquoson, Virginia, pleaded guilty in federal court in Newport News, Virginia, to charges that he led a conspiracy to falsely label millions of dollars worth of foreign crab meat.
According to officials, Casey was the owner and President of Casey’s Seafood Inc., a wholesale processor of crab meat and other seafood. He conspired with others to substitute foreign crab meat for Atlantic blue crab and admitted to falsely labeling more than 183 tons of crab meat, which was then sold to grocery stores and independent retailers.
The crab meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, and Vietnam included meat from Portunus pelagicus, Portunus haanii, and Ovalipes punctatus, which are all Indo-West Pacific species of crab that do not live in the continental waters of the United States.
The Lacey Act, a federal law that prohibits wildlife trafficking, was used to charge Casey with conspiracy to traffic in wildlife, in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2)(A), (B), and (C), and 16 U.S.C. § 3373(d)(1)(B). Casey’s plea agreement includes a stipulated sentence of 1 year of probation, a $15,000 fine, and a forfeiture of $100,000.
Casey’s actions were part of a larger scheme to profit from the decline in Atlantic blue crab harvests that began in 2010. During this time, it became increasingly expensive to purchase live Atlantic blue crab, making it difficult for Casey’s company to profit from the labor-intensive process of picking meat from live-harvested blue crab.
The guilty plea was announced by Acting Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey H. Wood of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division and G. Zachary Terwilliger, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
