Illegally harvesting striped bass lands commercial angler in hot water

Started by ez2cdave, December 29, 2017, 06:50:47 PM

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ez2cdave

Illegally harvesting striped bass lands commercial angler in hot water

http://www.carolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=14437

Eleven others also plead guilty to similar charges

FROM NEWS REPORTS   September 16 at 8:12pm



Illegally harvesting striped bass from federal waters landed a dozen North Carolina commercial fishermen in hot water.
Photo by Taylor Outdoors

Gaston L. Saunders, 53, of Wanchese, pleaded guilty on Aug. 3 to federal charges regarding the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic striped bass from federal waters.

The charges stem from a 2010 Lacey Act investigation by NOAA, assisted by the Coast Guard. Since 1990, there has been a ban on harvesting Atlantic striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which spans between three miles and 200 miles seaward of the coastline. Eleven other commercial fishermen have entered guilty pleas for conduct uncovered in the investigation.

Saunders also pled guilty to one count of federal tax evasion and three counts of failure to file federal taxes. In the plea agreement, he agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $544,946.35 payable to the Internal Revenue Service.

A sentencing hearing will be set at a later date. Saunders faces a total maximum sentence of 13 years imprisonment and/or a $800,000 fine.

According to the Department of Justice, further investigation revealed that, despite earning a substantial income from his commercial fishing, Saunders failed to file a tax return since 1999. Starting in 2010, and in order to avoid IRS collection efforts, Saunders directed his wife to deposit his fishing income into their joint bank account, then withdraw the money the same day and used those funds to purchase cashier's checks, primarily in denominations of less than $10,000 each. His wife would place the cashier's checks in a safe deposit box, cashing them over the years as the couple needed money. Between October 2010 and August 2014, Saunders caused his wife to deposit at least 20 fishing income checks totally $432,419.20 and converted the money to cashier's checks. In total, Saunders and his wife failed to pay $544,946.35 in federal taxes.

NOAA determined that between Jan. 19, 2009 and Feb. 9, 2010 Saunders, then captain of the trawler Little Sammie, harvested approximately 13,613 pounds of Atlantic striped bass from the EEZ, which he sold to a fish dealer in Engelhard. The estimated fair market retail value of the 13,613 pounds of illegally harvested fish exceeds $108,000. Saunders also submitted false statements to NOAA for two of three fishing trips, falsely claiming he caught the fish in state waters.

"These prosecutions make clear that efforts to circumvent laws regulating commercial fishing, which are implemented to sustain the species for the benefit of future generations, will be enforced vigorously," said U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce for the Eastern District of North Carolina. "We are pleased to partner with our colleagues in DOJ's Environmental Crimes Section to prosecute these important cases."

Manny Antonaras, Deputy Speical Agent in Charge for NOAA's Southeast Division's Office of Law Enforcement stated, "NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement is committed to ensuring a level playing field for law abiding fishermen and coastal communities that rely upon our nation's living marine resources. When people cheat the system, it hurts those who follow the rules the most."

"Tax evasion is not a victimless crime. Saunders' attempt to evade tax by hiding income and failing to file tax returns is a theft from the American public who are paying their fair share," said Thomas J. Holloman, III, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation. "We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute individuals who attempt to enrich themselves by fraudulent means."

mikeysm

He is out of business and it looks like their are more to be arrested. This is why we pay high license fee's.

Mike

MarkT

When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

Decker

I wonder to which markets these fish would have gone?  American markets or elsewhere?

13,613 pounds of illegally harvested fish...  It's probably just the tip of the iceberg for the quantity of U.S. stripers on the black market.


1badf350

-Chris

"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I require the same from them."
John Wayne as J.B. Books in "The Shootist"

thorhammer

Nyc/nj. I heard straight from the mule that did time selling freshwater fish from my lake as salt run fish to the black market. We had 20-40 lb fish back then.  Now a 10 pounder is news.


STRIPER LOU

He's fried! I'm more than curious to see how it all plays out?

.............Lou

Swami805

Good to see them nailing these guys, just wish they would catch more of them.
Do what you can with that you have where you are

Gfish

Kind of an elaborate way launder your money and still keep it "in house". Perhaps not paying his taxes was his downfall.
Gfish
Fishing tackle is an art form and all fish caught on the right tackle are"Gfish"!

Ron Jones

I'd be willing to guess that is where it started. Don't mess with the IRS! Once LE got involved from the tax evasion side the fishing would have come to light. I like that the investigation was thorough enough to find 11 more perpetrators. I do believe that some of the exclusion areas and other conservation measures are overreaching or based on poor science, but the law is the law. If I have to throw back a 1 inch short halibut even though I'm holding its gills, or release a trophy yelloweye to watch it pop back up and be eaten by seagulls, this idiot can't commercial fish in the EEZ.
Its a shame that we have people working hard to do things like profitably rebuild the Elizabeth river system to ensure a healthy fishery while at the same time we have people raping the ecosystem being developed by the conservation. I'm all about catching fish, and the commercial fisherman has to earn, but enough is enough.
I'm off my soap box now.
Ron
Ronald Jones
To those who have gone to sea and returned and to those who have gone to sea and will never return
"

thorhammer

stay on it, Ron . those fish right there are likely off the OBX right out of your new back yard...that's YOUR fishery. No wonder it's a lot more difficult to catch striper down at Nags Head and Manteo than when we slayed them in the 90's and early 2000's. I had twenty fish days in the surf back then.

broadway

I hate seeing these fish exploited like this... Hope they throw the book at them.
I'm mostly a catch and release striped bass fisherman, so to see this is disgusting.  I'm throwing these fish back for some commercial knuckleheads to line their pockets? ???
Yuck!
Dom

Dominick

Quote from: Gfish on December 30, 2017, 03:26:37 PM
Kind of an elaborate way launder your money and still keep it "in house". Perhaps not paying his taxes was his downfall.
Gfish
That's how they got Al Capone.  Scarface got caught by the IRS.  Dominick
Leave the gun.  Take the cannolis.

There are two things I don't like about fishing.  Getting up early in the morning and boats.  The rest of it is fun.

Shark Hunter

People that think they can live outside the law will get caught.
No Matter what is.
Tax Evasion, Child support, Illegal fishing, Drugs and trafficking.
You will go down.
Do the right thing. Work hard, pay your taxes and enjoy life the best you can, without having to look over your shoulder. ;)
Life is Good!