Department of Justice
Assistant U.S. Attorney's Office
- Southern District of Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 22, 2008

SENTENCES IMPOSED IN HAULOVER INLET THERAPY-IV CHARTER BOAT CASE

R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hal Robbins, Special Agent in Charge, NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division, Major Mike Edwards, Regional Commander, South Region Bravo, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) announced that after a sentencing hearing over two-days, STANLEY S. SAFFAN, 57, of Miami Beach, ADAM AUGUSTO, 36, of North Miami, THERAPY CHARTER FISHING YACHT, INC., and DUCHESS CHARTER FISHING YACHT, INC., were each sentenced in Fort Lauderdale federal court, for their role in connection with charges of illegally harvesting and landing sailfish, in violation of Title 16 , United States Code, Sections 3372(a)(2)(A), (a)(4), (c)(1)-(2), and 18 U.S.C. § 2.

In addition, according to the government and the Factual Statements, the contracts for sailfish mounts were secured through false representations to the anglers and/or the omission of material facts, including, among others, concealing the lack of required permits and licenses for the THERAPY vessels to harvest billfish and that illegally undersized billfish were being harvested and landed. Defendants also concealed from the customers that the sailfish need not be killed and landed to secure what were merely replica mounts constructed from artificial materials. The defendants also falsely claimed that the taxidermy company needed and would use parts of landed billfish in preparing the mounts. On one of his counts of conviction, STANLEY S. SAFFAN responded to a customer’s phone call seeking to cancel a mounting contract by falsely representing that the sailfish at issue was already at a local taxidermy company and being processed when, in fact, the sailfish had been seized by enforcement officers with FWCC and being held as evidence.

According to the Indictment, statements in court, and an agreed Statement of Facts signed by the defendants, during the period October 2003 through May 2005, the individual defendants and the companies operated two charter fishing vessels both named THERAPY-IV from Haulover Inlet in North Miami Beach. STANLEY S. SAFFAN, the owner of two corporations, was also licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard to carry passengers for hire and personally operated one of the THERAPY-IV vessels on charter trips. The Indictment charged and the defendants admitted through their guilty pleas, that undersized billfish were boated and subsequently landed by the masters and the crew members. None of the defendants complied with State of Florida and federal requirements that the landings be reported to federal authorities as part of a conservation and management plan regulation implemented in 2003. Further, the Indictment alleged that an undisclosed deal existed between the charter operation and a local taxidermy company to pay the crew and the boats’ owner for inducing anglers to sign contracts for mounting the sailfish that were caught.

The defendants were sentenced by the Honorable William J. Zloch, United States District Judge. STANLEY S. SAFFAN was sentenced to court-supervised probation for a period of five years and to pay a fine of $35,000. As sole owner of the THERAPY CHARTER corporation, SAFFAN was also ordered to make a substitute forfeiture payment of $50,000, representing 125% of the appraised value of the THERAPY-IV vessel to which it held title, and which was the subject of a forfeiture count in the Indictment. As sole owner of the DUCHESS CHARTER corporation, SAFFAN was ordered to forfeit to the United States a second vessel, also named THERAPY-IV, to which the corporation held title and which was the also the subject of a forfeiture count. SAFFAN was further ordered to make a restitution payment to victims of the fraud in the amount of $75,000, and to perform 500 hours of community service during the period of probation. The court placed special conditions on SAFFAN during his probationary term, including a prohibition on his service under any Coast Guard issued license as a vessel captain, and a restriction against his continued self-employment.

THERAPY CHARTER FISHING YACHT, INC., as an entity, was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $50,000 and placed on three years court-supervised probation. THERAPY CHARTER was also subject to the same $50,000 substitute forfeiture order entered against defendant SAFFAN. Judge Zloch determined that DUCHESS CHARTER FISHING YACHT, INC. had no separate assets from which to pay a fine, but placed the corporation on probation for one year. Additionally, DUCHESS CHARTER was included in the order to forfeit to the United States the second THERAPY-IV vessel, to which it held title.

Co-defendants BRIAN M. SCHICK, and RALPH B. PEGRAM were sentenced previously by Judge Zloch. Co-defendant SEAN P. LANG’s sentence is set for May 23, 2008.

Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the NOAA Office For Enforcement, the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which brought the matter to a successful conclusion. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas Watts-FitzGerald.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

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