Carlos Rafael, Largest Vessel Owner in New England Arrested, Massive Fraud Claimed in New Bedford
[Update: Our story with details of the undercover investigation and a link to the affidavit of the agent is
here.]
NEW BEDFORD — NEW BEDFORD — Federal authorities raided one of the best-known seafood wholesalers in the Northeast Friday morning, arresting owner Carlos Rafael on charges of conspiracy and falsifying records.
Rafael, 64, of Carlos Seafood on South Front Street, and his bookkeeper, Debra Messier, 60, both of Dartmouth, were arrested on charges of conspiracy and submitting falsified records to the federal government to evade federal fishing quotas, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz's office. The charges arose out of an undercover investigation in which federal agents posed as organized crime figures interested in buying the fishing business.
Rafael and Messier were scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Boston at 3:30 p.m., Friday.
The complaint alleges that for years, Rafael, with help from his bookkeeper, Messier, lied to federal authorities about the quantity and species of fish his boats caught, in order to evade federal quotas designed to guarantee the sustainability of certain fish species, according to the U. S. Attorney's office. After submitting false records to federal regulators to conceal the violation of quotas, Rafael sold the fish to a business in New York City in exchange for bags of cash, authorities said.
Early Friday morning, federal agents, including representatives from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Internal Revenue Service and the U. S. Coast Guard, were conducting a search inside the Carlos Seafood building....
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