| Abstract: |
A Virginia businessman faces federal charges for allegedly participating in a conspiracy to sell fraudulent seafood products. James R. Casey, owner and President of Casey’s Seafood, Inc., in Newport News, Virginia, is accused of violating the Lacey Act, which covers the trafficking of illegal fish and wildlife. According to a news release from Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for Virginia’s eastern district, he faces up to five years in prison if found guilty. Prosecutors claim that during a three-year period starting in July 2012, the 74-year-old ordered his employees to mix foreign-caught crab meat with Atlantic blue crab meat and label it as an American product. The workers removed the foreign product from the original shipper’s packaging, combined it with another foreign crab product and then place those in different containers. |
