Current:Home > StocksA Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish -EliteFunds
A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
View
Date:2025-04-12 19:30:19
GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) — The largest seafood distributor on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and two of its managers have been sentenced on federal charges of mislabeling inexpensive imported seafoodas local premium fish, weeks after a restaurant and its co-owner were also sentenced.
“This large-scale scheme to misbrand imported seafood as local Gulf Coast seafood hurt local fishermen and consumers,” said Todd Gee, the U.S. attorney for southern Mississippi. “These criminal convictions should put restaurants and wholesalers on notice that they must be honest with customers about what is actually being sold.”
Sentencing took place Wednesday in Gulfport for Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc., sales manager Todd A. Rosetti and business manager James W. Gunkel.
QPS and the two managers pleaded guilty Aug. 27 to conspiring to mislabel seafood and commit wire fraud.
QPS was sentenced to five years of probation and was ordered to pay $1 million in forfeitures and a $500,000 criminal fine. Prosecutors said the misbranding scheme began as early as 2002 and continued through November 2019.
Rosetti received eight months in prison, followed by six months of home detention, one year of supervised release and 100 hours of community service. Gunkel received two years of probation, one year of home detention and 50 hours of community service.
Mary Mahoney’s Old French House and its co-owner/manager Anthony Charles Cvitanovich, pleaded guilty to similar charges May 30 and were sentenced Nov. 18.
Mahoney’s was founded in Biloxi in 1962 in a building that dates to 1737, and it’s a popular spot for tourists. The restaurant pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to misbrand seafood.
Mahoney’s admitted that between December 2013 and November 2019, the company and its co-conspirators at QPS fraudulently sold as local premium species about 58,750 pounds (26,649 kilograms) of frozen seafood imported from Africa, India and South America.
The court ordered the restaurant and QPS to maintain at least five years of records describing the species, sources and cost of seafood it acquires to sell to customers, and that it make the records available to any relevant federal, state or local government agency.
Mahoney’s was sentenced to five years of probation. It was also ordered to pay a $149,000 criminal fine and to forfeit $1.35 million for some of the money it received from fraudulent sales of seafood.
Cvitanovich pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood during 2018 and 2019. He received three years of probation and four months of home detention and was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
veryGood! (13461)
Related
- Questlove charts 50 years of SNL musical hits (and misses)
- Shaboozey to headline halftime show of Lions-Bears game on Thanksgiving
- Sister Wives’ Christine Brown Shares Glimpse Into Honeymoon One Year After Marrying David Woolley
- Kate Spade Outlet’s Early Black Friday Sale – Get a $259 Bag for $59 & More Epic Deals Starting at $25
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Tuskegee University closes its campus to the public, fires security chief after shooting
- Disney x Lululemon Limited-Edition Collection: Shop Before It Sells Out
- Tua Tagovailoa tackle: Dolphins QB laughs off taking knee to head vs. Rams on 'MNF'
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Kevin Costner Shares His Honest Reaction to John Dutton's Controversial Fate on Yellowstone
Ranking
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Saving for retirement? How to account for Social Security benefits
- The 10 Best Cashmere Sweaters and Tops That Feel Luxuriously Soft and Are *Most Importantly* Affordable
- Olivia Munn Says She “Barely Knew” John Mulaney When She Got Pregnant With Their Son
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- As US Catholic bishops meet, Trump looms over their work on abortion and immigration
- How Leonardo DiCaprio Celebrated His 50th Birthday
- Democrat Ruben Gallego wins Arizona US Senate race against Republican Kari Lake
Recommendation
How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
Kevin Costner says he hasn't watched John Dutton's fate on 'Yellowstone': 'Swear to God'
Man waives jury trial in killing of Georgia nursing student
Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
Gerry Faust, the former head football coach at Notre Dame, has died at 89
Kyle Richards Shares an Amazing Bottega Dupe From Amazon Along With Her Favorite Fall Trends