Seaford seafood company co-owner convicted

The co-owner of a Seaford company was among those convicted of trafficking in illegally taken oysters and other offenses.

Mark Bryan, of New Market, Md, and the business he co-owns, Harbor House Seafood Inc., of Seaford, were convicted on felony counts of creating false records relating to their purchase of oysters, trafficking in illegally possessed oysters, as well as conspiring to obstruct justice and falsify records used by the FDA for tracking the movement of oysters in interstate commerce.

The conviction came after a seven-week trial in federal court in Camden, N.J.

Thomas Reeves, Todd Reeves, and Shellrock LLC, all of Port Norris, N.J., were convicted on multiple felony counts of violating the Lacey Act by creating false records for illegally possessed oysters, trafficking in illegally possessed oysters and falsifying records used by the Food and Drug Administration for tracking the movement of oysters in interstate commerce.  These same defendants, as well as Renee Reeves, an employee of Shellrock and the wife of Todd Reeves, were also found guilty of conspiring to commit those crimes and obstruct justice.

Kenneth Bailey, of Heislerville, N.J., was convicted on multiple felony counts of violating the Lacey Act by creating false records and trafficking in illegally possessed oysters, as well as falsifying records used by the FDA for tracking the movement of oysters in interstate commerce.

Starting in at least 2004 and continuing through 2007, Thomas and Todd Reeves, oyster fishermen who owned Shellrock (doing business as Reeves Brothers), would take a greater amount of oysters from the Delaware Bay than was allowed by New Jersey.  The Reeveses would then falsify the records that New Jersey used to track the number of oysters harvested from Delaware Bay and sell those unreported oysters to Mark Bryan at Harbor House in Delaware, prosecutors said.

Thomas Reeves, Todd Reeves and Renee Reeves, along with Mark Bryan at Harbor House, would also coordinate to cover up their activities by falsifying records required by the FDA, records which were used to protect the public health from outbreaks of oyster-borne disease.  In addition, the defendants conspired to obstruct a federal investigation into their illegal conduct by providing investigators with false records and making false statements that attempted to hide their conduct.

Bryan and Harbor House also purchased unreported oysters from Kenneth W. Bailey Sr., another Port Norris oyster fisherman.  Like the Reeveses, Bailey would create false records required by the state and the FDA to hide his overharvest.

The fair market retail value of the unreported oysters during this time was in excess of $750,000, and the defendants over-harvested their quota in some years by nearly 60 percent.  

The maximum penalty for conspiring to commit offenses and for violations of the Lacey Act is up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The maximum penalty for obstruction of justice counts is up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.  The maximum penalty for the corporations is up to five years of probation and a fine in an amount that is the greater of $500,000 or twice the gross gain, for each count.