Kentucky environmental attorney Sanders says federal crack down on false labeling of seafood in Virginia case by using DNA evidence!

There is justice for fraudulent activity in the supermarket. A Virginia man has been sentenced to 63 months in federal prison for participating in a conspiracy that led to more than 10 million pounds of frozen catfish being imported from Vietnam, but fraudulently labeled and sold in the United States as sole, grouper and other species. This sentence is one of the longest imposed by a federal judge for falsely labeling seafood. In addition to the prison term, the federal judge ordered the defendant to forfeit more than $12 million to the government for anti-dumping duties avoided.

A second defendant involved in the scheme, who was the president of Silver Seas, a Virginia-based fish importer, was also sentenced yesterday for his role in the conspiracy to import mislabeled fish to avoid federal tariffs. This will cost the president a one year period of probation.

The cases against the two defendants are part of an ongoing federal prosecution of importers and seafood dealers who worked together to import catfish from Vietnam and sell frozen fillets that were falsely labeled as far more desirable and much more expensive fish.

The defendants imported $15.5 million worth of catfish that was illegally labeled and imported as sole, grouper, flounder, snakehead, channa and conger pike (a type of eel). DNA tests revealed that the frozen fish was in fact Pangasius hypophthalmus, a fish in the catfish family marketed under approved trade names including swai or striped pangasius.

An anti-dumping duty was placed on Pangasius hypophthalmus imports from Vietnam in January 2003 after a petition was filed by domestic catfish farmers, who alleged that this fish was being imported from Vietnam at less than fair market value.

Good for the Department of Justice for prosecuting these crooks!