Rafael, sheriff’s deputy indicted in fishing scheme

NEW BEDFORD – Fishing magnate Carlos Rafael has been indicted by federal prosecutors for lying about fish catches and smuggling cash to Portugal through Logan International Airport in Boston, in a multiyear scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to documents unsealed May 10.

The indictment lists 27 counts against Rafael, for charges that include conspiracy, false entries and bulk cash smuggling. Rafael is alleged to have falsely reported the species of more than 815,000 pounds of fish to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration between 2012 and January of this year, The Standard-Times reported.

Prosecutors allege that Rafael sold the illegally caught fish to a wholesale buyer in New York for cash.

Bristol County Sheriff’s Office deputy Antonio M. Freitas, of Taunton, also is named in the indictment. Freitas is charged with two counts, one for bulk cash smuggling and one for international structuring. •

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