Saving Seafood

Montauk Gosman fish dealer family members arraigned on conspiracy, obstruction charges

May 19, 2021 — Two fish dealers who are members of the Montauk-based Gosman family pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and obstruction charges in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday in a case alleging they dealt in illegally caught fluke and black sea bass.

Bryan and Asa Gosman entered not-guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Wicks to a two-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud the government by submitting false fishing reports and obstructed justice by withholding documents or emails requested in a grand-jury subpoena. The men were released on $100,000 signature bonds with their travel restricted to the continental United States.

George Stamboulidis, an attorney for the Gosmans, declined to comment outside the courtroom. He had requested the men be released without the $100,00 bond, which Wicks denied.

Christoner Winkler, a Montauk fisherman who allegedly sold the Gosmans fish caught over the legal limits, was arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty to related conspiracy and obstruction charges, said his lawyer, Peter Smith of Northport, who declined to comment further.

The federal indictment unsealed last month charges Winkler, 61, Bryan Gosman, 48, and Asa Gosman, 45, with a conspiracy the government said took place between May 2014 and July 2016 involving more than $250,000 of over-quota fluke and black sea bass.

Read the full story at Newsday

New York wholesaler indicted on seafood fraud charges

April 23, 2021 — A federal grand jury has indicted Montauk, New York-based seafood wholesaler Bob Gosman Co. on seafood fraud charges.

On 21 April, the grand jury unsealed the indictment in the seafood fraud case, which also charges fishing captain Christopher Winkler, Bob Gosman Co. managers Bryan Gosman and Asa Gosman, and an unnamed co-conspirator – a now-defunct company operating out of the New Fulton Fish Market – the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Montauk Fisherman and Wholesalers Indicted in Fraud Scheme

April 22, 2021 — A federal grand jury has indicted two members of Montauk’s Gosman family and a commercial fishing boat owner on charges of conspiracy to commit fraud and obstructing an investigation in connection with a scheme to sell at least $250,000 in illegally caught fluke and black sea bass. The United States Department of Justice announced the indictment on Wednesday.

The indictment stems from about 70 fishing trips that Christopher Winkler, 61, also of Montauk, made aboard his boat New Age from May 2014 to July 2016 during which he took fluke and black sea bass in excess of federal catch quotas, according to the Department of Justice. The fish was sold to a now-defunct company, Greater New York Fish, at the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx that was owned in part by Asa Gosman, 45, and Bryan Gosman, 48.

After the Bronx company stopped operating, Mr. Winkler continued to sell the allegedly illegal catch to the two men, through Bob Gosman Co., in which they had an ownership role, the Justice Department said.

The grand jury charged Mr. Winkler, Bryan Gosman, and Asa Gosman with one count each of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as to unlawfully frustrate National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration regulatory efforts.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

New York Fisherman and Fish Dealer Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud, and Obstruction

April 21, 2021 — The following was released by The United States Department of Justice:

Today, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment of one fisherman, a wholesale fish dealer, and two of its managers for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and obstruction in connection with a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass. All four defendants are from Montauk.

Christopher Winkler, 61, Bryan Gosman, 48, Asa Gosman, 45, and Bob Gosman Co. Inc. were charged with one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as to unlawfully frustrate the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) efforts at regulating federal fisheries. Winker and the corporate defendant each face substantive fraud charges. In addition, each of the defendants was charged with obstruction.

The indictment alleges that between May 2014 and July 2016, Winkler, as captain of the New Age, went on approximately 70 fishing trips where he caught fluke or black sea bass in excess of applicable quotas. This fish was then sold to a now-defunct company and unindicted co-conspirator in the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx. Both Asa Gosman and Bryan Gosman had an ownership interest in the defunct company. After the Bronx company went under, Winkler sold a smaller quantity of his illegal catch directly to Bob Gosman Co. Inc., a Montauk fish dealer in which Asa Gosman and Bryan Gosman had a management role. The overages of fish included at least 74,000 pounds of fluke, and the overall over-quota fish (of all species) were valued at least $250,000 wholesale.

Under federal law, a fishing captain is required to accurately detail his catch on a form known as a Fishing Vessel Trip Report (FVTR), which is mailed to NOAA. Similarly, the first company that buys fish directly from a fishing vessel is termed a fish dealer, and fish dealers are required to specify what they purchase on a federal form known as a dealer report, which is transmitted electronically to NOAA. Pursuant to statutory mandate, NOAA utilizes this information to set policies designed to ensure a sustainable fishery. The indictment alleges that the part of the conspiracy was to falsify both FVTRs and dealer reports in order to cover-up the fact that fish were taken in excess of quotas.

Additionally, Asa Gosman, Bryan Gosman, and Bob Gosman Co. Inc., acting through its agents and employees, were charged with obstructing the investigation into these crimes by corruptly withholding certain documents and records sought by a federal grand jury.

Initiated as part of Operation One-Way Chandelier, the indictment is part of a multi-year, ongoing investigation into fisheries fraud on Long Island. The case is being investigated by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement. Trial Attorney Christopher Hale of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section is prosecuting the case.

The defendants will be arraigned at a future date.

Read the full release here