WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Two food processing and distribution companies in New York have pleaded guilty to selling seafood across the U.S. market by sticking false labels on packets.
In a plea agreement with the government, Roy Tuccillo Sr and his son Roy Tuccillo Jr of Jericho, who own Anchor Frozen Foods Inc. and Advanced Frozen Foods Inc., pleaded to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Both the firms are based in Westbury, New York.
Their owners confessed that they imported giant squid from Peru, marketedg it as octopus, and used e-mail and wire transactions to sell it to grocery stores in interstate commerce.
Octopus and squid are distinct species of fish with great variance in their taxonomy, habitat, and physical characteristics. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires food companies selling squid to market it by its name or as Calamari, while octopus cannot be sold in any other name.
In general, octopus has a greater retail price than squid.
The defendants admitted that between 2011 and 2014, they imported, processed, and distributed more than 113,000 pounds of squid worth $1.1 million falsely labeling them as octopus.
The defendants admitted to defrauding more than ten grocery stores that in turn sold the product to consumers. This is in violation of the Lacey Act, which prohibits submitting false descriptions of fish that were transported and sold in interstate commerce.
They can be punished with a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, three years of post-release supervision, and a fine up to $250,000, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
The companies found to be guilty may be placed on five years of probation and required to pay a fine up to $500,000.
The Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement investigated this case with assistance from the FDA.
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