SSA Participates in Training Course for Trade Enforcement Agents
On Wednesday, the Southern Shrimp Alliance participated in a training session on enforcement of antidumping and countervailing duties for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials. In the presentation, SSA provided an overview of the U.S. warmwater shrimp industry, emphasizing the communities and families across the coasts of the […]
Filed Under
Southern Shrimp Alliance Strongly Endorses H.R. 1907, the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015
On Tuesday, the Chairman of the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade, Pat Tiberi (R-OH), introduced H.R. 1907, the “Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act.” The proposed legislation includes several measures that would substantially strengthen the federal government’s ability to prevent and deter fraudulent trade, while increasing consumer confidence in the market. The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act […]
Filed Under
Southern Shrimp Alliance Applauds the Federal Government’s Aggressive Criminal Investigation of Antidumping Duty Circumvention
Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced sweeping criminal charges filed in federal court against two companies and five individuals that facilitated the importation and sale of illegal honey imports evading $180 million in antidumping duties. Charges were filed against Groeb Farms, […]
Filed Under
1 Comment on Southern Shrimp Alliance Applauds the Federal Government’s Aggressive Criminal Investigation of Antidumping Duty CircumventionFederal Agencies Step Up Efforts to Address Shrimp Import Fraud
Yesterday, the Southern Shrimp Alliance sent a letter to the Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce commending the agency for its increased efforts to address shrimp import fraud.Commerce issued a final determination on Tuesday denying the request of Hilltop International, a shrimp exporter conglomerate, to be excluded from the antidumping duty order on shrimp from China due to […]
Filed Under
Convictions Handed Down in Seafood Mislabeling Case; Investigation Uncovered Massive Fraud in Shrimp Trade
On Monday, Chau-Shing (“Duke”) Lin and Christopher Scott Ragone were sentenced for their role in a seafood mislabeling scheme involving pangasius falsely imported and marketed as other fish species. Mr. Lin received a sentence of three years probation, one hundred hours of community service, and a fine of $60,000. Mr. Ragone received three years probation with an order for one […]
Filed Under
ICE Reports on the investigations of Ocean Duke
Assistant U.S. Attorney’s full reporting of the Cambodian shrimp transshipment scheme
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. […]
Filed Under
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 […]
Filed Under
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.