A 74-year-old Poquoson man is facing a charge in federal court after he allegedly blended foreign crabmeat with Atlantic blue crab meat, then labeled it as “Product of USA.”
James R. Casey, the owner and president of Casey’s Seafood, Inc. in Newport News, is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, and will face the charge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Blending the two crabmeats violates the Lacey Act, which prohibits any commerce involving fish, wildlife or plants that are obtained in violation of the law, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service International Affairs.
Casey allegedly conspired to replace Atlantic blue crab meat in his products with meat from Indonesia, China, Thailand, Vietnam and Central and South America.
Authorities believe Casey and his co-conspirators falsely labeled at least 397,917 pounds of crab meat, which has a retail value “in the millions of dollars,” the release said.
Casey instructed his employees to remove the foreign crabmeat from the original packages and blend it with the Atlantic crabmeat, labeling it in a new container as “Product of the USA,” the release said.
Some labels on containers reading “Product of Brazil” or “Product of China” were also covered up with labels stating they were products of the United States, the release said.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the Food and Drug Administration assisted in the investigation.
Casey’s Seafood is located at 807 Jefferson Ave. in Newport News.
If convicted, Casey faces up to five years in prison.
