Shrimp Fraud

HOUMA, La. (AP) - A Mississippi shrimp-company owner with
business ties in Houma, La., has entered a guilty plea in a case
involving tariff money intended to help shrimp producers hit hard
by foreign competition.
Earl H. Fayard Jr., owner of Ocean Springs Seafood Market Inc.,
pleaded guilty last week to one federal felony count of making
false or fraudulent claims against a federal agency, according to
court documents.
Fayard received $659,252 from U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, the agency charged with administering the tariff
payments.
U.S. Attorney Jim Letten would not comment on how the
investigation came about or whether more prosecutions related to
shrimp-tariff payments were planned.
Fayard will be sentenced April 21. The maximum prison sentence
in the case is five years.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)