American Mariculture Co-Founder and CEO Robin Pearl has pled not guilty to charges of fraud, money laundering, and grand theft as the property on which the company’s recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is located has been placed for sale.
Pearl co-founded American Mariculture, along with American Penaeid and Sun Shrimp Gourmet, in 2013 and was charged with multiple crimes in November 2025. According to booking documents submitted to the Lee County, Florida courts, Pearl allegedly used company funds for personal purchases in amounts potentially exceeding USD 1 million (EUR 853,000).
The booking indicates Ross Horsley, one of the owners of American Mariculture, reported the potential fraud.
According to the booking report, Horsley told police the original deal made in 2017 would see Pearl gather investors and operate the facility while taking a salary and not providing any capital. Pearl would have primary control over the day-to-day operations of the company – which included managing payroll. Horsley said he was concerned with the “lack of oversight” over Pearl.
A detective investigating the incident claimed he discovered multiple payments to Pearl’s accounts that came from the business accounts of the companies – outside of this normal payroll – which accounted for over USD 300,000 (EUR 255,000). The detective also wrote that Pearl made payments on his personal credit card with the business account, which across 121 different payments amounted to over USD 1.3 million (EUR 1.1 million).
Further court filings reveal it imposed a no-contact order on Pearl requiring he has no direct or indirect contact with Horsley. Pearl’s legal representation filed a motion to set aside the no-contact order to return to work at American Mariculture – a location Horsley “frequents” as the landlord of the property.
Since the start of the court proceedings, Horsley has apparently placed the property on which American Mariculture is operating for sale, based on postings on multiple real estate sites. The property has been described as 51 acres of land complete with “above ground cement tanks for shrimp producing.” The current list price for the property is USD 3 million (EUR 2.6 million).
