GULFPORT, Miss. — A significant federal case has culminated with the sentencing of the largest seafood distributor in the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc. (QPS), along with two of its managers, concerning charges of mislabeling lower-cost imported seafood as high-quality locally sourced fish. This development comes shortly after a local restaurant and its co-owner faced similar legal repercussions.
U.S. Attorney for Southern Mississippi, Todd Gee, emphasized the detrimental impact of the fraudulent activities, stating, “This large-scale scheme to misbrand imported seafood as local Gulf Coast seafood hurt local fishermen and consumers. These criminal convictions should put restaurants and wholesalers on notice that they must be honest with customers about what is actually being sold.”
The sentencing occurred on Wednesday in Gulfport, where QPS, sales manager Todd A. Rosetti, and business manager James W. Gunkel learned their fates after pleading guilty to conspiracy to mislabel seafood and commit wire fraud earlier this summer.
As part of the sentence, QPS was placed on five years of probation and mandated to pay a hefty total of $1.5 million, which includes $1 million in forfeitures alongside a $500,000 criminal fine. Prosecutors revealed that this misbranding operation had been ongoing since at least 2002, concluding in November 2019.
Rosetti received an eight-month prison term, which will be followed by six months of home detention, one year of supervised release, and 100 hours of community service. Gunkel, on the other hand, was sentenced to two years of probation, one year of home confinement, and 50 hours of community service.
In a related case, the restaurant Mary Mahoney’s Old French House and its co-owner, Anthony Charles Cvitanovich, who pleaded guilty to charges resembling those against QPS on May 30, received their sentences on November 18. Founded in Biloxi in 1962, the restaurant is housed in a building that dates back to 1737 and is well-known among tourists. Elements of their guilty plea included wire fraud and conspiracy to misbrand seafood.
From December 2013 to November 2019, Mahoney’s admitted to fraudulently marketing approximately 58,750 pounds (26,649 kilograms) of frozen seafood sourced from regions like Africa, India, and South America as high-end local species.
As part of the judicial order, both Mahoney’s and QPS must keep detailed records for at least five years, listing species, sources, and costs related to their seafood offerings, with these records to be made available to any pertinent federal, state, or local agency. Mahoney’s received a sentence of five years of probation, with an additional requirement to pay a $149,000 criminal fine and to forfeit $1.35 million, a sum reflective of the fraudulent seafood sales.
Cvitanovich also faced consequences, receiving three years of probation alongside four months of home detention, in addition to a $10,000 fine for his involvement in misbranding food products during the years 2018 and 2019.
