![]() ![]() consumers expect the origin of their seafood to be correctly identified. ![]() During the periods when the company did not process blue crab-which sometimes lasted three months-the co-conspirators purchased crab meat (not live crabs) from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and other foreign locales. To make up the shortfall, the co-conspirators used foreign crab meat to fulfill customer orders. As part of his guilty plea, Casey admitted that, because of this decline, he and the company could not and did not process sufficient quantities of Atlantic blue crab to meet customer demands. “This case is a great example of investigative cooperation by state and federal law enforcement to strengthen seafood fraud detection and safeguard the industry and consumers.”Ī significant decline in Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) harvests that began in 2010 made it increasingly expensive to purchase live Atlantic blue crab and increasingly difficult to profit from the labor-intensive process of picking meat from live-harvested blue crab. and global fisheries, deceives consumers, and threatens the health of those who consume tainted or misidentified seafood products,” said James Landon, Director of NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement. “Seafood fraud undermines the economic viability of U.S. Casey also admitted to aiding and abetting James Casey in selling at least 367,765 pounds of crab meat falsely labeled “Product of USA,” with a total wholesale value of approximately $4,324,916. Casey’s actions are an affront to those who play by the rules when selling blue crab, and The Department will continue to work closely with its partners to prosecute criminals who flout the rule of law.”Īs part of the plea, Michael Casey admitted to knowing that Casey’s Seafood employees were directed to unpack foreign crab meat from containers and re-package that meat into containers bearing the company name and which were labeled “Product of USA.” falsely labeling more than 183 tons of crab meat, which was then sold to grocery stores and independent retailers. “By illegally mislabeling hundreds of thousands of pounds of crab meat, the defendant intentionally undermined the local crab processing industry – defrauding customers and, in turn, damaging the public’s trust in an industry that is important to the local economy," said Jeffrey Bossert Clark, Assistant Attorney General for Environment and Natural Resources Division. James Casey, the owner and President of Casey’s Seafood, also pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January to a 48-month term of imprisonment. ![]() Casey and others to substitute foreign crab meat for Atlantic blue crab. He pleaded guilty to conspiring with James R. Casey, 42, was the Vice President for Marketing and Operations of Casey’s Seafood Inc., a wholesale processor of crab meat and other seafood. We are committed to working with our federal and state partners to ensure compliance with the Lacey Act, and to enforce our nation’s environmental laws that are in place to protect consumers from similar fraud schemes.”Īccording to court documents, Michael P. This fraud causes real financial harm to the fragile, maritime economies here in the region, and threatens to tarnish the good name of the watermen and women who have worked this estuary for generations. “Casey falsely labeled nearly 400,000 pounds of crab meat with a retail value in the millions of dollars. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. ![]() “As I stated when his father was convicted, the Caseys conspired to replace Atlantic Blue Crab with crab meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Central and South America,” said G. – A Poquson man pleaded guilty today to his participation in a lucrative conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act and falsely labelling millions of dollars-worth of foreign crab meat as “Product of USA”. ![]()
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