Mississippi Seafood Distributor and Managers Plead Guilty to Mislabeling Scheme

GULFPORT, MISS. – Quality Poultry and Seafood Inc. (QPS), the largest seafood wholesaler on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, along with two of its managers, pleaded guilty today to charges of conspiring to mislabel seafood and committing wire fraud. The company and its officials admitted to falsely marketing inexpensive, frozen imported fish as premium local species, deceiving customers and harming the local seafood industry.

QPS, based in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, has agreed to pay $1 million in forfeitures and a criminal fine of $150,000 as part of the plea deal. Todd A. Rosetti, QPS’s sales manager, and James W. Gunkel, the company’s business manager, also pleaded guilty to misbranding seafood to facilitate the scheme, which lasted from 2002 until November 2019.

The indictment revealed that QPS sold foreign-sourced fish to restaurants and labeled it as premium local species on their menus. The company also mislabeled the seafood it sold at its own retail shop and café, misleading customers into believing they were purchasing high-quality, locally sourced fish.

"QPS and its officials engaged in a long-running scheme to defraud customers, even after knowing they were under federal investigation," said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. "This kind of fraud undermines the local seafood market, hurting honest wholesalers and fishermen who rely on selling authentic Gulf Coast seafood."

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee for the Southern District of Mississippi emphasized the impact on the local economy: "By marketing imported substitutes as local seafood, QPS not only deceived customers but also depressed the value of genuine Gulf Coast fish. This fraudulent practice makes it harder for local fishermen and wholesalers to compete, and it cheats customers who believe they are paying for premium local products."

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also weighed in, highlighting the potential risks to consumers. "When sellers substitute one fish species for another, they not only deceive consumers but also create food safety risks," said Justin Fielder, Special Agent in Charge of the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Miami Field Office.

Even after the FDA executed a criminal search warrant at QPS, the company continued for more than a year to sell frozen fish imported from Africa, South America, and India as substitutes for local species. One of QPS’s major clients, Mary Mahoney’s, pleaded guilty in May to selling approximately 58,750 pounds of mislabeled fish between December 2013 and November 2019.

QPS, Rosetti, and Gunkel are scheduled to be sentenced on December 11. A federal district court judge will determine the sentences based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.

boiled shrimpsPhoto byTerje Sollie