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e-News
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Caviar dealer charged in international smuggling operation |
05.09.2008
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MIAMI--The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida here and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have indicted Max Moghaddam and Bemka Corp. for the illegal export of internationally protected paddlefish roe, according to an April 25 prepared statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida here.
According to the release, Moghaddam had been exporting the American paddlefish eggs to Brussels, Belgium, under false labeling that referred to the eggs as bowfin roe, a species that is not endangered. Moghaddam, 58, is charged with conspiracy, false labeling of export shipments and the illegal export of internationally protected roe during the period of July 2005 through April 2007. Moghaddam faces up to five years imprisonment on the conspiracy and false labeling charges and up to one year in prison on the Endangered Species Act charge. He also faces criminal fines.
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American paddlefish, polyodon spathula native to the Mississippi River drainage system and harvested for its meat and roe, has been listed as an endangered species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora since 1992 due to over fishing and habitat changes. The paddlefish is a close relative of the sturgeons and its roe has qualities similar to sturgeon caviars. With diminishing world sturgeon populations and increased international protection for declining stocks, American paddlefish has become a substitute for sturgeon caviar, according to the release.
A trial date in U.S. District Court has not yet been set.
Bemka Corp. operates under the name Bemka House of Caviar and Fine Foods and is based in Fort Lauderdale.
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