A seafood dealer in Mississippi was sentenced to 25 months in federal prison this week.
Lonnie M. Ray, president of Cowart Seafood, Inc. in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, pleaded guilty to selling unreported fish to seafood buyers in Louisiana, along with illegal possession of a short-barreled shotgun.
Ray failed to report purchases from commercial fishermen to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and bought fish from recreational fisherman, in violation of the Lacey Act.
An indictment alleged Lonnie Ray and Shelley Ray conspired to keep two sets of books in 2014 and 2015, failing to report their actual sales, according to The Sun Herald.
However, the charges against Shelley Ray have been dismissed.
Ray also pled guilty to owning a 12-gauge double-barrel shotgun, having a barrel of less than l8 inches in length, which was not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
