Gosmans, Fisherman Ran $250K Overfishing Scheme: Feds

MONTAUK, NY — Two members of the well-known family behind Gosman's in Montauk, along with a commercial fisherman, were charged with conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, as well as obstruction, in a scheme to illegally overharvest and sell fluke and sea bass, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

They are accused of catching and selling overages of at least 74,000 pounds of fluke; the value of the over-quota fish was at least $250,000 wholesale, according to the Department of Justice.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment Wednesday.

Christopher Winkler, 61, Bryan Gosman, 48, Asa Gosman, 45, and Bob Gosman Co. Inc. were each charged with one count of 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. They were also each charged with obstruction.

In addition, the DOJ said, Winkler and the corporate defendant each face "substantive" fraud charges.

The indictment alleges that between May 2014 and July 2016, Winkler, as captain of the New Age, went on about 70 fishing trips where he caught fluke or black sea bass in excess of applicable quotas, the DOJ said.

The fish was then sold to a now-defunct company and "unindicted co-conspirator" in the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx, the DOJ said.

Asa Gosman and Bryan Gosman had an ownership interest in the defunct company, the DOJ said.

Then, after the Bronx company went out of business, Winkler sold a smaller quantity of his illegal catch directly to Bob Gosman Co. Inc., a Montauk fish dealer in which Asa Gosman and Bryan Gosman had a management role, 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 mailed to the NOAA, the DOJ said.

Next, 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 the NOAA, the DOJ explained.

The NOAA then uses the information garnered to set policies "designed to ensure a sustainable fishery," the DOJ said.

"The indictment alleges that the part of the conspiracy was to falsify both FVTRs and dealer reports in order to cover up the fact that fish were taken in excess of quotas," the DOJ said.

Additionally, Asa Gosman, Bryan Gosman and Bob Gosman Co. Inc., were also charged with obstructing the investigation by "corruptly withholding certain documents and records sought by a federal grand jury," the DOJ said.

Those indicted will be arraigned at a future date.

Attorneys for the Gosmans and Winkler could not immediately be reached for comment.