A Connecticut man was convicted today in federal court of providing false
information to the United States Department of Commerce, specifically the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Special Master, in order
to obtain reimbursement for fines he had previously paid.
Bruce Fitzsimmons, 54, of Canterbury, Connecticut, waived indictment and
entered a plea today before U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to knowingly
and willfully making a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement
and representation in a matter before the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Fitzsimmons was previously employed as a commercial fisherman in
Massachusetts. Between 2005 and 2006, he received two separate notices of
violations based upon, among other things, fishing in closed areas. Initially,
Fitzsimmons agreed to a fine of $60,000 and a suspension of his fishing permit.
After receiving a second violation notice for a separate violation, Fitzsimmons
advised the NOAA General Counsel that he was no longer in the fishing business.
Fitzsimmons negotiated a settlement for both violations and agreed to pay a
total fine of $50,000 for both violations. Fitzsimmons sold his fishing permit
to a third party for $80,000 and used a portion of the money to pay off his
fine.
In June 2009, in response to complaints from the fishing industry, the
Department of Commerce appointed a special master for the District of
Massachusetts to review decisions and outcomes of cases handled by NOAA’s Office
of General Counsel for Enforcement and Litigation.
In April2011, Fitzsimmons sent an Application for Review of the NOAA Notice
of Violation and Assessment to the special master. Fitzsimmons falsely claimed
that he only settled the case because he had received a letter from a NOAA
attorney threatening a penalty of $350,000 plus a permit revocation. By this
application and attaching what he said was the letter, Fitzsimmons was seeking
to receive reimbursement for the $50,000 he paid to settle both prior
violations. It was later determined that there was no such letter or threat and
that Fitzsimmons made false claims and submitted a fabrication in order to
obtain money to which he was not entitled from the Department of Commerce.
Fitzsimmons is scheduled to be sentenced on September 6 at 11 a.m. He faces
up to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release,
and a fine of up to $250,000.
United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent
in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made
the announcement today. Special acknowledgment goes to the Northeast Enforcement
Division of NOAA’s Office for Law Enforcement for their cooperation during the
investigation. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nadine
Pellegrini, Chief of Ortiz’s Major Crimes Unit.
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