Michael Brian Anderson, a shrimper and fisherman, was convicted by a federal jury on three counts of false statements, four counts of mail fraud, and two counts of money laundering.
According evidence presented at trial, Anderson submitted multiple false claims to Customs & Border Protection (CBP) seeking millions of dollars in subsidies under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act of 2000 (CDSOA). The CDSOA protected American shrimp producers by imposing anti-dumping taxes on foreign producers and permitting domestic shrimpers to apply for the money they would have made but for unfair foreign competition.
Anderson, an eligible domestic shrimper, mailed multiple false certifications to CBP, stating that his shrimping business expenses for the years 2005 to 2007 were more than $24 million.Anderson claimed he spent almost all of this money on the purchase of 3.9 million pounds of raw shrimp from R&R Seafood, a small seafood store on Tybee Island.
However, R&R Seafood apparently never sold anywhere near that amount of shrimp in the entire time it was in business.
Jeffrey Newman represents whistleblowers.
