Gosmans Plead Guilty In $240K Overfishing Scheme: Feds

MONTAUK, NY — Two members of the well-known family behind Gosman's in Montauk pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a $240,000 overfishing scheme, according to the United States Department of Justice.

Managers Bryan Gosman and Asa Gosman, both of Montauk, pleaded guilty to one felony count of criminal conspiracy for their role in a scheme to purchase illegal summer flounder and black sea bass from a local fisherman, the DOJ said.

Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim announced the plea.

In addition, the company which they partially own, Bob Gosman Co. Inc., a federally-licensed fish dealer also located in Montauk, pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor Lacey Act fish trafficking, the DOJ said.

On April 20, a federal grand jury indicted Christopher Winkler, Bryan Gosman, Asa Gosman and Bob Gosman Co. Inc. with one count of conspiracy, among other crimes, the DOJ said. The indictment charged a conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud as well as to unlawfully frustrate the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration's efforts at regulating federal fisheries, the DOJ said.

The indictment alleged that between May 2014 and July 2016, Winkler, as captain of the New Age, went on dozens of fishing trips where he caught fluke or black sea bass in excess of applicable quotas, the DOJ said.

Bryan and Asa Gosman admitted that the fish was then sold to a now-defunct company, an unindicted co-conspirator, in the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, the DOJ said.

Both Asa Gosman and Bryan Gosman had an ownership interest in the defunct company; after the Bronx company went under, Bryan and Asa Gosman contended that Winkler sold a much smaller quantity of his illegal catch directly to Bob Gosman Co. Inc., the DOJ said.

In court documents, Bryan and Asa Gosman admitted that the sales of illegal fish, to both companies, totaled at least $240,000 wholesale, the DOJ said.

Under federal law, a fishing captain is required to accurately detail his catch on a form known as a fishing vessel trip report, which is sent to NOAA, the DOJ said. The first company that buys fish directly from a fishing vessel is termed a fish dealer, and fish dealers are required to specify what they purchase on a federal form known as a dealer report, which is transmitted electronically to NOAA, the DOJ explained.

NOAA utilizes the information to set policies designed to ensure a sustainable fishery.

Bryan and Asa Gosman stated that part of the conspiracy was to falsify both FVTRs and dealer reports to cover up the fact that fish were taken in excess of quotas; the pair also admitted to obstructing NOAA’s investigation into the conspiracy through the joint destruction of incriminating business records that Bryan Gosman had removed from the defunct Bronx company in March 2017, the DOJ said.

Those records would have been responsive to a then-outstanding grand jury subpoena, the DOJ said.

As part of the plea deal for the company, Bob Gosman Co. Inc. agreed to pay a criminal fine of $50,000 and be placed on probation for four years; the company also would have to implement an environmental compliance plan with enhanced monitoring, training, and inspection requirements, the DOJ said.

Sentencing hearings for the Gosmans will be set at a future date; the trial of the remaining fisherman, Christopher Winkler, has not yet been scheduled, the DOJ said.