NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man has pleaded guilty for his role in falsely labeling foreign crab meat that was sold as fresh Chesapeake blue crab.
Federal prosecutors said Thursday in a statement that 42-year-old Michael P. Casey pleaded guilty to conspiring with his father, James Casey, who owned Casey’s Seafood in Newport News. The elder Casey was sentenced in January to two years in prison.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for Virginia’s Eastern District, said the crab came from places in South America as well as China and Vietnam. He said about 400,000 pounds with a retail value in the millions of dollars were falsely labeled.
According to the Department of Justice the blue crab meat was mixed with other crab meats, which include discounted foreign crab meat. In some cases prosecutors claim the meat mixed in, was close to or past its expiration date.
According to court records, the scheme involved meat sold to stores and restaurants in Maryland, D.C., North Carolina, Delaware, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida.
Among the stores affected was Harris Teeter, which said it identified and offered refunds to shoppers who bought the crab meat between Jan. 1, 2010 through June 2015.
Terwilliger said the ruse undermined the local seafood economy. The younger Casey faces up to five years in prison at his November sentencing.
WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.
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