David H.M. Phelps: Debarment Order
Seafood Distributor Sentenced for Mislabeling Shrimp
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Richard Stowell, of United Seafood Imports, had been sentenced to two years of probation and six months of home confinement for mislabeling imported shrimp products sold in the U.S. market. Mr. Stowell’s sentencing follows a related criminal conviction and sentencing in March of this year of Mark Platt, of Shifco Inc., […]
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SSA Describes Rampant Customs Fraud and Duty Evasion Relating to Shrimp Imports in Statement to U.S. Senate
On May 19, 2011, the Southern Shrimp Alliance filed a written statement with the U.S. Senate focusing on the problem of illegal circumvention of shrimp antidumping duties. The statement contributes the experiences and recommendations of the U.S. shrimp industry to a May 5th hearing, “Enforcing America’s Trade Laws in the Face of Customs Fraud and Duty Evasion,” before the U.S. […]
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U.S. Government Files Lawsuit to Recover Antidumping Duties on Mislabeled Seafood
On May 9, the U.S. government filed suit in the Court of International Trade to recover nearly $1 million in lost duties, penalties, and interest against Country Flavor Corp., a seafood importer located in El Monte, California and the issuer of Country Flavor’s surety bonds, International Fidelity Insurance Company (United States v. Country Flavor Corp., Court No. 11-00138). The Government’s […]
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Two Seafood Execs Sentenced for Mislabeling
Department of Justice Press Release Posted Thursday, May 5, 2011 Seafood Wholesaler Owners Sentenced in Alabama for Selling Falsely Labeled Fish, Smuggling and Misbranding of Seafood Products WASHINGTON– Karen L. Blyth and David H. M. Phelps were sentenced yesterday in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 33 months and 24 months in prison, respectively. The pair was also fined $5,000 […]
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Florida Seafood Company Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Mislabel Shrimp
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office found at http://www.justice.gov/usao/fls/PressReleases/110427-01.html FLORIDA SEAFOOD COMPANY AND ITS PRESIDENT PLEAD GUILTY TO CONSPIRACY TO MISLABEL SHRIMP April 27, 2011 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), […]
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Fraud and Mislabeling Update
Karen L. Blyth and David H.M. Phelps pleaded guilty in federal court in Mobile, Ala., to 13 felony offenses for their roles in purchasing and selling farm raised Asian catfish and Lake Victoria perch falsely labeled as grouper; selling foreign farm-raised shrimp falsely labeled as U.S. wild caught shrimp, selling shrimp that falsely claimed to be larger, more expensive shrimp than they actually were; and for buying fish they knew had been illegally imported into the United States.
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Guilty Plea in Shrimp Mislabeling Case Highlights Fraud in Shrimp Market
On January 12, 2011, the office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida issued a press release announcing that a Florida company had pled guilty to criminal charges related to the mislabeling of salmon and shrimp for resale in the U.S. market. According to court filings accompanying the guilty plea, Shifco, Inc. worked with an unnamed […]
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Preventing Mislabeling and Transshipment
Exporters and importers of Chinese shrimp, in particular, have employed a variety of schemes to avoid antidumping duties and the FDA control. Substantial transshipment of Chinese shrimp through Indonesian exporters was uncovered several years ago by the investigatory work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Since that time other transshipment schemes have been uncovered. CBP and ICE, at the request […]