Press Release
FORT LAUDERDALE CAVIAR DEALER SENTENCED IN INTERNATIONAL SMUGGLING OPERATION
February 24, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Eddie McKissick, Miami Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and Darwin Huggins, Atlanta Resident Agent in Charge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, announced that Max Moghaddam, a/k/a Bahmadi Moghaddam Mohammad, a/k/a Mohammad Moghaddam 58, of Plantation, Florida, and Bemka Corporation, D/b/a Bemka Corporation House of Caviar and Fine Foods, of Fort Lauderdale, were sentenced in Miami today by United States District Court Judge Federico Moreno, for their involvement in conspiracy, false labeling of export shipments, and the illegal export of internationally protected fish roe (eggs) during the period from July 2005 through April 2007.
Moghaddam and Bemka were convicted in December 2008 for their participation in the export of significant quantities of the roe of the American paddlefish, in violation of the laws, treaties, and regulations of the United States, contrary to the Lacey Act, Title 16, United States Code, Sections 3372 and 3373, the conspiracy statute, Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and the Endangered Species Act, Title 16, United States Code, Section 1538(c)(1).
Moghaddam, who was remanded into custody at the conclusion of the hearing, was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 18 months, fined $100,000, and ordered to serve a three year period of supervision upon his release. Bemka was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $200,000 and serve a four year term of probation. Additionally, American paddlefish roe, with a value of approximately $122,000 was forfeited to the United States in connection with this matter.
American paddlefish is a species listed for protection since 1992 pursuant to an international treaty known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ( “CITES”). A purpose of CITES is to monitor and restrict trade in certain species of fish, wildlife, and plants to protect them from commercial exploitation that might diminish the ability of the species to survive in the wild. More than 170 countries cooperate in the enforcement of the provisions of CITES, including the United States and Belgium, by implementing domestic laws to effectuate its underlying goals.
According to the evidence and documents presented, none of the participants in the shipments applied for or secured the necessary permits, and the American paddlefish was falsely described on shipping invoices and customs documents as bowfin roe. The scheme was detected when a Wildlife Inspector on duty at the Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport became suspicious of the appearance of the fish roe in a shipment awaiting transport to Brussels.
Mr. Acosta commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the Special Agents of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service which brought the investigation to a successful conclusion. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys 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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