by Larry Chowning
A $2 billion dollar “False Claims Act” lawsuit alleging “figurehead fraud” against the Canadian seafood giant Cooke Inc. of St. John, New Brunswick and Omega Protein and Ocean Harvesters of Reedville was “dismissed in full” on January 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan.
The relators, Chris Manthey and W. Benson Chiles, sued “on behalf” of the U.S. government, including the Maritime Administration (MARAD) of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
MARAD is the agency that determines whether applicants satisfy American Fisheries Act (AFA) vessel citizenship requirements. The U.S. government, MARAD and USCG were not plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The suit alleged Cooke Inc., Omega Protein, Alpha VesselCo. Holdings Inc. and others, violated the AFA (1998) and Jones Act (1920) that allows only U.S. citizens to fish in U.S. waters.
The suit stemmed from the approximately $500 million purchase of Omega Protein of Reedville and all its assets in 2017 by Cooke Inc. The suit alleged that….
