Canadian Man Faces Possible Year in US Prison for Importing Fish Previously Refused Entry by FDA

A Canadian man faces up to a year in prison after pleading guilty Oct. 18 to importing fish into the U.S. that had already been refused entry, the Department of Justice said in a press release. John Heras and his company, the seafood wholesaler Seven Seas Fish Company, admitted that between October 2014 and August 2015, they imported more than 9,000 pounds of potentially adulterated fish into the U.S. that had already been refused admission by the Food and Drug Administration because the fish was too decomposed and putrid, DOJ said.

According to the plea deal, Seven Seas had bought about 12,100 pounds of corvina fish from a company in Mexico in June 2014. When Seven Seas attempted to import the corvina into the U.S. through the Otay Mesa port of entry, FDA officers examined the fish “by sensory analysis” and found a third of the samples were more than 20 percent decomposed and putrid. FDA eventually refused admission on July 15.

Seven Seas then arranged to have the corvina transported under bond across the U.S. to its plant in British Colombia, Canada. Heras examined samples of the corvina, and cooked and ate some of the fish. “John Heras states that he found the fish to be wholesome,” the plea agreement says.

Despite knowing that the fish had been refused entry to the U.S., Heras then encouraged others at Seven Seas to sell the fish to customers in the U.S. The fish was imported into the U.S., without the required notice to FDA that it had previously been refused entry. “The FDA has not found any illness linked to those who consumed the fish,” FDA said.

Under the deal, Seven Seas will pay a $150,000 fine. Heras is set for sentencing in February. Importation of previously refused food is punished by up to a year in prison, DOJ said. DOJ prosecutors have agreed to recommend probation instead of prison time, "but the ultimate sentence will be determined by Magistrate Judge Theiler based on the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors,” DOJ said.

Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the plea agreement.