The Justice Department announces that a jury found a fish wholesaler and two of its employees guilty of purchasing illegally harvested striped bass from the Potomac River in Virginia and Maryland from 1995 through 2007.

Ocean Pro Ltd. d/b/a Profish, one of the largest District of Columbia seafood wholesalers, its vice-president Timothy Lydon of Bethesda, Md., and its fish buyer, Benjamin Clough of Graysonville, Md., were all convicted of a felony conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. Ocean Pro and Lydon were also convicted of three felony Lacey Act violations, and Clough was convicted of three Lacey Act violations and a felony false statement charge. The Lacey Act is a federal law that prohibits individuals or corporations from transporting, selling or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally. In total, the defendants purchased over 270,000 pounds of striped bass illegally harvested from Maryland and Virginia waters, with a fair market retail value over $1.6 million.