The CEO of Cresskill, N.J.-based Sterling Seafood Corp. on Wednesday pleaded guilty to importing mislabeled fish from Vietnam and evading more than USD 60 million in U.S. antidumping tariffs, the U.S. Department of Justice reported on Wednesday.
Thomas George also sold more than USD 500,000 of misbranded fish purchased from another U.S. importer. He pleaded guilty to one count of importing mislabeled goods and one of selling mislabeled fish with the intent to defraud.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation revealed that from January 2003 to June 2006, George maintained a business relationship through Sterling Seafood with a Vietnamese seafood distributor and regularly purchased Vietnamese catfish. George admitted that from 2004 to 2006 he engaged in a scheme to label the fish as grouper in order to evade U.S. antidumping tariffs.
George faces the maximum statutory sentence of two years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine, or twice the monetary gain derived from the offense. The second count, which charges selling mislabeled, carries a maximum statutory sentence of three years in prison and a USD 250,000 fine, or twice the monetary gain derived from the offense.
In addition, George has agreed to make a USD 50,000 community-service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be designated for research into the identification of seafood.
