The vice-president of a Miami-based seafood wholesaler has pleaded guilty to conspiring with competitors to fix prices for the purchase of stone crab claws and spiny lobster in Florida.
According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida, Dennis Dopico, of Miami, was a vice president for a company that operated a seafood processing centre that sold stone crab claws and spiny lobsters.
Between 2023 and 2025, Dopico conspired with competing companies and their employees to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices paid to fishermen for stone crab claws and spiny lobsters.
This conspiracy deprived fishermen in Florida of the benefits of competition, depressing the prices paid to fishermen for their harvests.
“Criminal conspiracies to deprive hardworking Americans the right to earn a fair wage are untenable in a free society. As the defendant admits, his price fixing conspiracy unfairly took money out of the pockets of hardworking fishermen for years,” said Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Omeed Assefi of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division.
Price fixing cheats fishermen, squeezes restaurants, and makes families pay more at the table, said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida.
According to Assistant Director Doug Ault, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, the case highlights the serious consequences of undermining the integrity of our nation’s natural resource markets.
“Price-fixing schemes not only disrupt fair competition but also threaten American businesses and the sustainability of our valuable fisheries,” stated Ault. “We remain committed to working with our federal partners to hold accountable those who exploit our natural resources for unlawful profit.”
Dopico and his co-conspirators exchanged text messages and calls, coordinating and agreeing on prices to be paid to fishermen, and adjusting these prices together as the respective harvest seasons progressed.
For example, on September 28, 2023, following communications with a co-conspirator about spiny lobster prices, Dopico replied, “[d]on’t show text to anyone [.] Confidential,” to which the co-conspirator responded, “I give you my word. We’re working together now, not against each other [.]” Later, on Oct. 13, 2023, the same co-conspirator texted Dopico new stone crab claw prices. Dopico responded, “[l]et me know what you do. I am matching your prices. It’s the one we like the most.”
In the plea agreement filed today, Dopico admitted that the volume of commerce attributable to him and related to the conspiracy was approximately $8 million.
Dopico pleaded guilty to one felony count of restraining trade by conspiring to fix prices, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine.
The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The court set Dopico’s sentencing hearing for January 5, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
