The Department of Justice announced the sentencing of Adrian Vela and Sea Food Center, LLC., both of Tampa, Florida, on charges that they conspired to mislabel shrimp. The two had previously pled guilty to a nine-count Criminal Information, which charged them with conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act by false labeling of less marketable substituted seafood product, “Shrimp, Product of Thailand,” “Shrimp, Product of Malaysia,” and “Shrimp, Product of Indonesia,” which was misbranded, marketed, and intended to be marketed as “Shrimp, Product of Panama.” This conspiracy involved more than 500,000 pounds of shrimp, with a retail value of between $400,000 and $750,000.
Mr. Vela was sentenced to three (3) years of probation. Sea Food Center was sentenced to one year of probation, a $15,000 fine and $1,200 special assessment.
