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Alaska captain hit with $1 million fine, six-month sentence for misreporting

August 12, 2021 โ€” A commercial fisherman in Alaska will pay a fine of $1 million and spend up to a six months in prison for misreporting his catch.

Kodiak fisherman James Aaron Stevens was sentenced last week for โ€œknowingly submitting false records concerning the locations and regulatory areas where fish were harvested,โ€ according to the U.S. District Attorneyโ€™s Office, Alaska District.

The attorneyโ€™s office announced last August that Stevens had plead guilty to one count of false labeling, which constituted a Lacey Act violation. The false reporting occurred during 26 fishing trips between 2014 and 2017, when Stevens served as the owner and operator of the F/V Southern Seas and the F/V Alaskan Star.

โ€œSpecifically, Stevens knowingly falsified International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) logbooks, daily fishing logbooks, Alaska Department of Fish and Game fish tickets, and landing reports to show that fishing gear had been deployed in areas where the vessels did not fish, and omitted areas in which the fish were actually harvested,โ€ the district attorneyโ€™s office said. โ€œIn addition to his falsified logbooks, the investigation further revealed that Stevens maintained the accurate fishing information in a separate, personal log.โ€

Stevens falsely reported the harvest of some 903,208 pounds of halibut and sablefish, which added up to around $4.5 million in ex-vessel value and $13.5 million in market value.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Forcing Other Countries To Ban Shark Finning: A Bipartisan Conservation Bill Back In Congress

February 5, 2019 โ€” During the George W. Bush administration, American furniture makers had a crippling disadvantage. While American timber was tightly regulated, foreign supplies had no limitations on where their wood originated from, and could engage in destructive practices and undercut U.S. companies.

President Bush solved that by modernizing the Lacey Act, which was the conservation brainchild of Republicans a century earlier and had been modified a few times since. Under the new law, if a supplier could not show a legitimate trail of legal acquisition, it simply could not come into the U.S.

Modern fisheries have the same import problem, plus a domestic perception one.(1) When it comes to products like shark, American fishers have one set of rules, and it has created the most sustainable program on earth, but importation is a free-for-all. The Magnuson-Stevens Act means responsible shark management but in other countries shark finning is all too common

The Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019, H.R. 788, mandates the same science-based management standards for imported products that American fishermen use. The program this bill has been modeled after has worked well for sea turtles and other marine mammals.  Though it is a Republican bill, its support is bipartisan, rare enough for modern politics, but it is also supported by non-profit education organizations like Science 2.0. and the fishing industry, non-ban-happy conservation groups, aquariums and zoos. It almost sounds impossible to have such a diverse consensus, but there it is.

Read the full story at Science 2.0

Levittown Man Trafficked More Than 3,500 Protected Turtles, Feds Say

July 11, 2018 โ€” Federal prosecutors indicted a Levittown man Tuesday for allegedly trafficking protected diamondback terrapin turtles.

According to William McSwain, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, David Sommers, 62, of Levittown, was charged with smuggling the turtles and submitting false records for a shipment sent to Canada. The indictment included four violations of the Lacey Act for allegedly trafficking more than 3,500 turtles in interstate commerce.

Federal prosecutors said Sommers would capture the diamondback terrapins and their eggs from marshes in coastal New Jersey. The Levittown man would sell them illegally and had sent turtles across the border with Canada in 2014 in a package that he claimed contained a book.

Sommers is accused of violating the Lacey Act, a wildlife trafficking law, while transporting the turtles from New Jersey into Pennsylvania, according to prosecutors.

โ€œDiamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are a semi-aquatic species of turtle native to brackish waters in eastern and southern United States. They are not found in the wild in Pennsylvania but have a dwindling habitat range in neighboring New Jersey. The terrapins are prized in the reptile pet trade for their unique, diamond-shaped shell markings. The turtles are protected under New Jersey law and by an international treaty, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (โ€œCITESโ€),โ€ prosecutors said in a press release.

Read the full story at Levittown.com

Maineโ€™s โ€˜grandfather of eel fishingโ€™ to be sentenced for trafficking in poached elvers

May 3, 2018 โ€” A Woolwich man credited with playing a key role in establishing Maineโ€™s lucrative baby eel fishery is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday morning in Portland for buying and selling more than half a million dollars worth of baby eels he knew had been caught illegally.

William โ€œBillโ€ Sheldon, 71, is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Portland at 10 a.m. Thursday, to be sentenced for violating the federal Lacey Act by trafficking in poached baby eels, also known as elvers.

Sheldon is one of the most influential fishermen in Maine and has been described by national news media as โ€œMaineโ€™s elver kingpinโ€ and โ€œthe grandfather of eel fishing.โ€

He is one of 21 men, 12 of whom live in Maine, charged in four states with participating in a scheme to illegally catch and sell elvers. In all, the defendants caught, sold and transported more than $5.25 million worth of poached elvers in nine East Coast states from 2011 through 2014, according to prosecutors.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Judge denies fedsโ€™ motion for Carlos Rafael to forfeit more vessels, permits

October 26, 2017 โ€” NEW BEDFORD, Mass. โ€”  Judge William Young didnโ€™t waste any time denying the United Statesโ€™ motion for reconsideration in the case of Carlos Rafael.

The government filed the reconsideration on Wednesday, the same day Young filed his judgment.

The government sought Young to reconsider the forfeitability of Rafaelโ€™s vessels and permits.

Young ordered four vessels and the accompanying permits to be forfeited on Oct. 11. U.S. Marshals seized the vessels the Lady Patricia, Olivia & Rafaela and the Southern Crusader II on Oct. 18.

The reconsideration stated, โ€œthe court may correct a sentence that resulted from arithmetical, technical or other clerical errorโ€ within 14 days. The government, again, is seeking Rafael to forfeit all 13 vessels and permits associated with his guilty plea to 28 counts of falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Maine man gets 2 years in federal prison for trafficking in baby eels

October 26, 2017 โ€” A Waldoboro man has been sentenced in federal court to serve two years in prison for his role in an East Coast scheme that trafficked in millions of dollars in poached baby eels.

Richard D. Austin, 40, pleaded guilty in April to violating the federal Lacey Act by trafficking in baby eels, or elvers. He was accused of illegally harvesting roughly $190,000 worth of elvers in Massachusetts and Virginia from 2013 to 2015 and of selling the poached elvers to dealers in Illinois and New York.

Austin is the first to be sentenced to prison time of 18 men charged as a result of the so-called โ€œOperation Broken Glassโ€ federal investigation. All 18 men have pleaded guilty in the scheme but only five have been sentenced so far.

Appearing Wednesday in a federal courtroom in Norfolk, Virginia, Austin was ordered to report to federal officials to begin serving his sentence on Dec. 11 at a prison not yet selected. He also was ordered to serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term. He was ordered to pay a special assessment off $100 but was not ordered to pay any fines or restitution.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

Members of Congress Want Department of Justice to Penalize Carlos Rafael For Violations of MSA

October 27, 2017 โ€” SEAFOOD NEWS โ€” Commercial fishing mogul Carlos โ€œThe Codfatherโ€ Rafael pled guilty for violations of the Lacey Act, but now Congressman Raรบl M. Grijalva and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree want the Department of Justice to penalize him for violations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).

Grijalva and Pingree sent a letter on Thursday to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross and Department of Justice Attorney General Jeff Sessions seeking for the forfeiture of assets and permits that are not โ€œdirectly linked to a specific crime.โ€

โ€œWe are writing today to follow up on a letter sent September 21, 2017 regarding Carlos Rafael, the leader of a massive illegal fishing operation in New England, reads the letter. โ€œWhile Rafael pled guilty to violations of the Lacey Act and was recently sentenced to 46 months in prison, the judge bizarrely rejected the governmentโ€™s recommendation that Rafael forfeit all 13 vessels involved in the crimes, instead requiring the forfeiture of only four vessels and 34 permits and levying a much lower fine than the government had recommended. We want to thank the Justice Department for its recent motion asking the court to reconsider the ruling, including the level of the fines.โ€

The letter goes on to state that itโ€™s โ€œunacceptableโ€ to allow Rafael to โ€œmaintain the ability to transfer or sell millions of dollars worth of assets.โ€ Although Rafael can no longer participate in the fishery, he still has a reported 27 fishing vessels, as well as an assortment of permits.

โ€œCongress gave the Secretaries clear authority to completely remove bad actors from the fishing industry,โ€ Grijalva said in a press release. โ€œIf they donโ€™t use the authority here, it will send a clear signal to Codfather wannabees that the Magnuson Act is a joke. This administration claims to be all about law and order โ€“ this is a chance to prove it.โ€

The letter comes just as William D. Weinreb, acting United States Attorney for the District of Massachussetts, filed a motion to reconsider the forfeiture of Rafaelโ€™s vessels.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

 

Judge issues forfeiture order in Rafael case

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) โ€” October 11, 2017 โ€” Judge William G. Young of the U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, has released his order on the question of forfeiture in the Carlos Rafael case. 

The judge ordered Mr. Rafael to forfeit his 50 percent interest in four vessels in which his ownership stake is appraised at $2.2 million, and his half interest in 4 permits with 34 endorsements. The government had sought forfeiture of Mr. Rafaelโ€™s interest in 13 vessels. In the โ€œMemorandum and Order Concerning Forfeitureโ€ the judge outlined the Constitutional issues, case law, and sentencing guidelines limiting the magnitude of the forfeiture, stating โ€œthe government erroneously seeks to multiply the maximum fine by each of twenty-three counts of conviction for violations of the Lacey Act. Thatโ€™s not how the guidelines work.โ€

He stated โ€œa forfeiture sanction of $2,000,000+ in assets accords well with Rafaelโ€™s suggested $2,800,000 cash forfeiture. Rafael, of course, would agree to this cash forfeiture in a last ditch effort to save his fleet entire and, apparently, sell it as a whole. The government will not agree- it seeks the forfeiture of actual Vessels and Permits.โ€

He also noted that he โ€œstayed away from the โ€˜Athenaโ€™ and the โ€˜Hera IIโ€™ because they have scalloping permits and scalloping is not involved in this wrong doing.โ€

The following summary is taken from the text of the order. The full order is available here.


The government sought forfeiture of 13 fishing vessels and permits.

Rafael owns the โ€œAthenaโ€ outright and has a oneโ€”half interest in the remainder of the fleet. Based on the current market, the estimated gross value of the Vessels and Permits is approximately $30,000,000 and there are approximately $2,000,000 to $3,000,000 in liens and attachments on the Vessels and Permits, reducing the value of the Vessels and Permits to approximately $27,000,000 โ€“ $28,000,000.

The relevant statute mandates forfeiture.

Because Rafael violated the Lacey Act, and conspired to violate the Act, this Court must order forfeiture to the extent permitted by the Constitution.

The Eighth Amendment provides: โ€œExcessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.โ€

The court found:
1. Rafael falls into the class of persons to which the criminal statute was principally directed.
2. The requested forfeiture would not deprive Rafael of his livelihood.
3. The harm caused by the defendant was substantial.

After carefully calculating the sentencing guidelines as required by law, the Court derived a guideline range of not less than 51 nor more than 63 months imprisonment, a fine range of $20,000-$200,000, restitution of $108,929 supervised release from one to three years, and a mandatory special assessment of $2,800 ($100 on each of the 28 counts of conviction).

Following the principles set forth in 18 U.S.C. ยง 3553(a), with specific emphasis on the need for specific and general deterrence in light of Rafaelโ€™s extensive flouting of the fishery reporting regulations and the harm it caused, this Court sentenced him to 46 months in custody, three years of supervised release (with a special condition barring him from the fishing industry), a special assessment of $2,800, and a fine of $200,000, the maximum guideline fine provided for Rafaelโ€™s adjusted offense level.

โ€ฆThis Court in order to carry out the Congressional mandate must decree forfeiture to the full extent permitted by the Eighth Amendment. โ€ฆthe guidepost is relatively clear; the forfeiture must not be grossly disproportionate to the maximum fine under the sentencing guidelines.

The government erroneously seeks to multiply the maximum fine by each of twenty-three counts of conviction for violations of the Lacey Act. Thatโ€™s not how the guidelines work.

United States v. Bajakajian, 524 U.S. 321, 334 (1998) makes clear that a forfeiture of 70 times the maximum fine is grossly disproportionate, nothing in United States v. Jose, 499 F.3d 105 (1st Cir. 2007) suggests that 4 times the maximum guidelines fine is the outer limit of proportionality.

The Court, accepting the appraisals and listing of permits found in Rafaelโ€™s Opposition to Forfeiture, Exhibit โ€” seeks to maximize, within constitutional limits, the number of vessels and permits to be forfeited. I have stayed away from the โ€œAthenaโ€ and the โ€œHera IIโ€ because they have scalloping permits and scalloping is not involved in this wrong doing.

By adhering to our present quasi-determinate form of sentencing Congress has at the same time limited its largely unfettered legislative power in the premises by delegating to the Sentencing Commission the power to set fine ranges and, by extension, the permissible scope of constitutional forfeiture. Moreover, a forfeiture sanction of $2,000,000+ in assets accords well with Rafaelโ€™s suggested $2,800,000 cash forfeiture. Rafael, of course, would agree to this cash forfeiture in a last ditch effort to save his fleet entire and, apparently, sell it as a whole. The government will not agree- it seeks the forfeiture of actual Vessels and Permits.

Accordingly, Carlos Rafael shall forfeit all right, title and interest he may have in the โ€œBull Dogโ€ ($661,3505 โ€“ 8 permits), the โ€œOlivia & Rafaelaโ€ ($458,550 โ€“ 11 permits), the โ€œLady Patriciaโ€ ($338,800 โ€” 4 permits), and the โ€œSouthern Crusader IIโ€ ($800,150 โ€“ 11 permits), i.e. four fish boats with a total appraised value for Rafaelโ€™s interest of $2,258,850 and 34 permits.

North Atlantic Traders Acquitted on Smuggling and Conspiracy Charges in Less than One Hour of Jury Deliberation

August 15, 2017 โ€” BOSTON โ€” The following was released by Stephen Ouellette, attorney for North Atlantic Traders:

A 12-person federal jury acquitted federal tuna dealer North Atlantic Traders and its principal, Robert Kliss, on Lacey Act, smuggling and conspiracy charges in a case before District Judge William Young, investigated by the Department of Justice working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.   The jury reached its verdict of not guilty on all five counts against both defendants in less than a full hour of deliberation.

Barry Pollack of Boston, attorney for Kliss, added, โ€œthe federal agents engaged in misconduct by pressuring witnesses to make exaggerated statements, which the jury saw through.โ€

Stephen Ouellette of Gloucester, Massachusetts, attorney for North Atlantic Traders, said โ€œthe verdict of not guilty reflected more than two decades of regulatory compliance by my client and its dedication to a sustainable fishery.  That NOAAโ€™s overzealous prosecution in this and other cases following closely on the heels of the highly critical assessment of NOAA law enforcement by the Department of Commerce Office of the Inspector General can only be seen as an attempt to justify NOAAโ€™s enforcement budget at the expense of the fishing industry and fundamental principles of justice.โ€

For further information, contact Stephen Ouellette at 978-281-7788 or 978-317-2542.

Portland seafood company fined over $550,000 for illegally importing urchins

June 29, 2017 โ€” A Portland seafood company has been fined more than $550,000 for violating import laws.

ISF Trading Company, located on Hobsons Wharf at 390 Commercial St., was also ordered to forfeit nearly $300,000 and was put on probation for a year by federal District Court Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. for violating the Lacey Act, the U.S. Attorneyโ€™s Office in Portland said.

The Lacey Act prohibits trading in wildlife that has been illegally caught, owned, transported or sold.

According to federal prosecutors, ISF bought sea urchins from a supplier in Canada that wasnโ€™t allowed, under Canadian law, to export seafood. ISF then brought the urchins into the U.S., using labels from another Canadian supplier which, at times, was allowed to export the urchins, prosecutors say.

ISF was charged with illegally importing about 48,000 pounds of sea urchins between Dec. 31, 2010, and Feb. 1, 2011. Prosecutors said the processed roe from the urchins was worth at least $172,800.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

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