A Mississippi seafood restaurant misled diners by telling them that the fish they were eating was fresh, when in fact it was imported frozen products.
Despite the restaurant’s location in Biloxi, the city home to a thriving commercial fishing industry, the only catch the owners got was from the delivery truck, as tons of frozen food arrived in the kitchens ready to be served.
Attendees at Mary Mahoney’s Old French House restaurant, a Biloxi landmark since it opened in 1964, were unaware and never suspected that something suspicious was going on behind closed doors.
Instead, they took to social media and boasted about the latest catch they had enjoyed at the legendary spot, believing it came straight from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Mary Mahoney’s Admitted to Selling Frozen Foreign Fish as Fresh, Locally Caught Seafood
Biloxi restaurant will lose $1.35 million after defrauding customers
Federal prosecutors allege, and the restaurant has confessed, that it purchased the seafood from an unnamed local Biloxi supplier and misrepresented it to unsuspecting customers, hooking them.
The restaurant has now agreed to forfeit $1.35 million to the federal government after pleading guilty to felony conspiracy to defraud customers through seafood mislabeling and wire fraud.
Co-owner Anthony ‘Tony’ Cvitanovich also pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to mislabel seafood.
From 2013 to November 2019, when federal agents raided the restaurant, Mahoney’s purchased more than 29 tons of lake perch, tripletail, triggerfish and unicorn filefish from Africa, India or South America.
The fish were falsely sold as premium Gulf red snapper, snapper and redfish, according to government charges.
But it looked more like a red herring than a red snapper.
From 2013 to November 2019, Mahoney’s customers were deceived by saying they were being fed fresh fish when it was frozen and purchased from Africa, India or South America.
Between 2013 and 2019, the restaurant misrepresented more than 29 tons of fish. In the photo, inside
“The conspirators thus benefited from the sale of seafood that would not have been as marketable or profitable had its true species and origin been known,” say federal prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
About 15 to 20 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agents conducted an early morning raid on the restaurant in 2019. They asked employees to leave just as they were preparing for lunch.
At the time, Cvitanovich speculated that the investigation was related to fish, but dismissed the issue as trivial, not realizing the seriousness of the alleged crimes.
Despite the charges alleging bait and switch, it seemed like everything was business as usual at the historic restaurant after the plea deal.
Bobby Mahoney, co-owner and public face of the restaurant, was not charged and declined to comment on the charges.
The restaurant, founded by the late Mary Mahoney and her brother Andrew Cvitanovich, has passed to their heirs.
Diners have been eating at the restaurant since it opened in 1964.
The restaurant is something of a local landmark in the area.
Attorney Michael Cavanaugh described the misbranding of the fish as “a technical problem.”
‘They made a mistake. It was resolved. “They’re moving forward,” he told Clarion Ledger.
Anthony Cvitanovich remains free on unsecured bail pending his sentencing in September. He faces a maximum of three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Gulfport attorney Tim Holleman, who represents Cvitanovich, said discussions with the federal government about the inaccurate menu descriptions had been going on for five years.
“Over the past five years, we have had extensive discussions with the federal government over inaccurate descriptions of the entrée of a certain item on our menu,” Holleman said. “This problem was immediately corrected five years ago.”
‘Mary Mahoney’s will continue to do what we have done best since 1964: serve our valued customers with impeccable service. “We are proud to serve the highest quality meats and seafood in a beautifully preserved historic home.”
Mary Mahoney’s continues to operate with what it says is a commitment to serving high-quality meats and seafood in its historic setting.
The FDA, which regulates food safety and runs a mandatory fish inspection program, underscored the seriousness of the crime.
Southern District U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee issued a statement emphasizing that customers deserve to get what they pay for and that mislabeling and defrauding customers are serious crimes, hoping the case will serve as a deterrent to other restaurants. and seafood suppliers.
‘When people spend their hard-earned money to enjoy amazing local seafood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, they should get what they paid for, not frozen fish from overseas.
“Mislabeling food and defrauding customers are serious crimes, and this case will help convince restaurants and seafood suppliers that it’s not worth lying to customers about what’s on the menu.”
Recent reviews of the restaurant are clearly average in taste and the place swims against the grain of public opinion.
“Although this restaurant has a good reputation on the Gulf Coast, it seems that is what brings in the business, not the quality of the food,” one wrote on TripAdvisor.
‘The food was tasteless. Too expensive for what you get,” added another.
‘Very overrated and we are very disappointed. The garnish was unimaginative and the snapper was dry. Definitely not worth the outrageous price for mediocre food,” one diner wrote in April.
‘The chicken pieces tasted like canned chicken. My husband ordered a steak with crab cake. He said it was underseasoned and the crab cake also tasted like it canned,” another visitor to the restaurant commented in February.
