Case library · The Black Market
Landed After Dark
United States v. Bengis (2011)
Charge: Lacey Act conspiracy & smugglingCourt: U.S. Court of Appeals, 2d CircuitState: New YorkDocket: The Black Market
Can a foreign country count as a victim owed payment for fish poached from its waters and smuggled into this one?
The facts
For fourteen years a fishing company took rock lobster from one nation's coastal waters far beyond the quota it held. Catches were offloaded at night, tonnage was under-reported, inspectors were bribed and export papers falsified. The lobster then went to American firms run by the same men, who processed and sold it here. That nation now asks a court here to make them pay it the value of what was taken.
You have the facts the court had. Guilty or not guilty? Call it in the game with your friends, then see what the court actually decided. Wrong call, you drink.
Citation: United States v. Bengis, 631 F.3d 33 (2d Cir. 2011)
Read more at caselaw.findlaw.com. The source reveals the outcome.