Illegally harvesting striped bass lands commercial angler in hot water
http://www.carolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=14437 (http://www.carolinasportsman.com/details.php?id=14437)
Eleven others also plead guilty to similar charges
FROM NEWS REPORTS September 16 at 8:12pm
(http://www.carolinasportsman.com/pics/p1505611667.jpg)
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."
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
NC fishing license fees go to the Feds?
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.
Good.
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.
He's fried! I'm more than curious to see how it all plays out?
.............Lou
Good to see them nailing these guys, just wish they would catch more of them.
Kind of an elaborate way launder your money and still keep it "in house". Perhaps not paying his taxes was his downfall.
Gfish
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
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.
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
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
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. ;)
If we had best line of the day, this one would be it ;)
Do the right thing. Work hard, pay your taxes and enjoy life the best you can, without having to look over your shoulder.
Sal
Quote from: Alto Mare on January 08, 2018, 01:27:36 AM
If we had best line of the day, this one would be it ;)
Do the right thing. Work hard, pay your taxes and enjoy life the best you can, without having to look over your shoulder.
Sal
'Line of the month' award?
Steve
Quote from: Alto Mare on January 08, 2018, 01:27:36 AM
If we had best line of the day, this one would be it ;)
Do the right thing. Work hard, pay your taxes and enjoy life the best you can, without having to look over your shoulder.
Sal
Salvatore, professore di psicologia. Dominick
A very interesting read.
Do you have 'proceeds of crime' legislation in the USA like here in Oz? That is what really hurts the crims....a hold placed on all financial accounts, with property, cars, motor cycles and jet skis seized and sold off.
The article says the the tax evasion happened between 2010-14. If applicable, I hope LE would check to see if he used any of the money to make mortgage repayments, buy vehicles etc.
Quote from: eric on January 08, 2018, 09:01:39 AM
Do you have 'proceeds of crime' legislation in the USA like here in Oz? That is what really hurts the crims....a hold placed on all financial accounts, with property, cars, motor cycles and jet skis seized and sold off.
That has recently been introduced here in NZ; if any assets are even vaguely tainted by illegitimate income they seize it. Mainly proceeds of drug crime at the moment, but you see big dealers losing their house, cars, motorbikes... all sorts.
Good thing he go caught. Now lets see more of that action! Wonder how it will end up.
Joe
Live right,,,do the right things and still look over you shoulder ;D
We do have asset forfiture laws in the US. They can be very harsh too. It's separate from a criminal case and the "bar" is much lower legally so they can take your assets without ever convicting you of a crime. Tax fraud is no joke too and likely used that since the illegal fishing part alone would likely result in a fine and probation. Hope it sends a message. That kind of thing is hard to police too,takes a lot of manpower to keep an eye on the resources and that is in short supply.
Safe bet all on this board follow the laws and rules but not a bad idea if you see something sketchy going on to at least speak up. Maybe it's just ignorance sometimes but there are those who knowingly take advantage without fear of getting caught because Wardens are spread so thin. We have Caltip in California, and they do follow up when you call. I think We all need to take a little responsibilty not only for our actions but to get guys like this. I'd bet that they were a bunch of people knew this guy was doing this and just turned a blind eye to it.
I fish our local pier quite a bit and go at 3 in the AM to try and hoop up a couple lobsters. I've seen guys with a bucket of shorts walking down the pier and I call and I tell them I'm calling even if they throw them back. They absolutely know what they're doing and I just don't want them coming back. The wardens show up and can't do much without the lobsters and the guys are long gone by then but they tell me to keep calling anyway. It ain't much but at least it's something and that kind of crap just gets under my skin.
Rant over, Sheridan
gentlemen, we all know what's right and wrong. i'm not really sure posts like this have a place here. they're not bad, per se, but i for one am a little tired of the excess drama lately and this is not helping. unless there are other concerns, i would like to discourage posts like this. in general, i am happy to discuss problems within the context of finding a solution. if there is no solution in the offing, i am generally not interested in discussing the problem just for the sake of discussion.