The defendant coordinated phone calls with other wholesalers to manipulate fishermen’s pay.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that a fish wholesaler based in Florida pleaded guilty to collusion and price-fixing to cheat fishermen out of fair wages. The vice president of a seafood processing company admitted in federal court to colluding with competitors between 2023 and 2025, which involved multiple phone calls and text messages with other wholesalers to manipulate pricing of stone crab claws and spiny lobsters. Prosecutors say the conspiracy impacted roughly $8 million in commerce.
“Criminal conspiracies to deprive hardworking Americans the right to earn a fair wage are untenable in a free society,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This price-fixing conspiracy unfairly took money out of the pockets of hardworking fishermen for years.”
“Price fixing cheats fishermen, squeezes restaurants, and makes families pay more at the table,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “We will protect honest competition from the boat to the dinner table.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Attorney General Pam Bondi and officials in the Justice Department as they seek to ensure fair commerce and trade in the U.S.
- For discernment for Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi as he oversees the DOJ’s Antitrust Division.
Sources: WPEC West Palm Beach, Townhall
