Phillip R. Carawan owner of Capt. Neill’s Seafood Inc. located in Columbia, NC. received a sentence of twelve months in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. His company was fined $500,000 and will be subjected to a five year probation and surveillance by federal authorities.
Carawan pleaded guilty to falsely labeling approximately seafood and seafood products valued at $4 million, as product of the USA. He knowingly marketed imported products and specifically blue crabs and crab meat obtained from South America and Asia.
The case was investigated by the Office of Law Enforcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in collaboration with the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Justice.