James R. Casey, Selling Falsely Labeled Seafood, Virginia 2019

Seafood Processor Sentenced to 45 Months for Selling Falsely Labeled Seafood

James R. Casey, owner and President of Casey’s Seafood Inc., a wholesale processor of crab meat and other seafood, was sentenced to 45 months in prison and a $15,000 fine for his role in conspiring to falsely label millions of dollars’ worth of foreign crab meat as “Product of USA” in Norfolk, Virginia.

On January 10, 2019, U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson sentenced Casey to 45 months in prison and a $15,000 fine for conspiring to falsely label foreign crab meat as Blue Crab from the USA. Casey admitted to substituting foreign crab meat for domestically harvested blue crab, and directing his employees to re-package and re-label the foreign crab meat into plastic containers labeled “Product of USA.”

According to papers filed in federal court, Casey and his company could not and did not process sufficient quantities of Atlantic blue crab to meet customer demands due to a significant decline in Atlantic blue crab harvests that began in 2010. To make up the shortfall, Casey and his co-conspirators purchased crab meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and other foreign locales, including meat from Indo-West Pacific species of crab that do not live in the continental waters of the United States.

The company also purchased crab meat from Central American sources, which included Atlantic blue crab, but also included other species. Casey admitted to directing company employees to “re-condition” “distressed” crab meat by re-pasteurizing it, and then packaging the “re-conditioned” meat into the company’s cups, which were labeled and sold as blue crab and “Product of USA.”

This case was part of an ongoing effort by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, in coordination with the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Homeland Security, the Virginia Marine Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia to detect, deter, and prosecute those engaged in the false labeling of crab meat. The government is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Eric Hurt and Trial Attorney Gary N. Donner.

Casey's Seafood Inc. was not charged in this case, but the actions of James R. Casey and his employees demonstrate a clear disregard for the law and a willingness to deceive consumers in order to increase profits.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/seafood-processor-sentenced-45-months-selling-foreign-crab-meat-falsely-labeled-blue-crab-usa