SANDUSKY, Ohio — A Sandusky-based fish company and four other people have been ordered to pay a combined $37,000 in fines after pleading guilty to stealing more than 100 fish that were meant to be donated to a local charity.
According to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, a two-year investigation found that that 112 walleyes, one steelhead, one yellow perch, and three whitefish that were supposed to be given to the Victory Temple Soup Kitchen were stolen by the Lake Fish Company and four other named defendants: Craig Carr, 55, of Oak Harbor; Dale Trent, 59, of Port Clinton; Thelma Towner, 69, of Sandusky; Stanley Swain, 55, of Milan.
The defendants pleaded guilty to a total of 13 misdemeanor charges of petty theft, one count of fifth-degree felony theft, two misdemeanor counts of receiving stolen property, and nine misdemeanor commercial fish violations. They will pay a total of $24,120 to Victory Temple, plus an additional $13,000 to the ODNR's Division of Wildlife.
Lake Fish Company's wholesale fish license will also be suspended for 30 days.
Court records show that Carr, Trent, and Lake Fish Co., Inc. are scheduled to be sentenced in November. Carr and Trent face a maximum jail sentence of 18 months. Swain was ordered by Erie County Common Pleas Court Judge Tygh Tone to pay $1,350 in restitution, while Towner will face Judge Tone later this month.
Many walleye tournaments that occur on Lake Erie donate harvested fish to a local charity organization to support those in need, according to the ODNR. The Ohio Division of Wildlife also donates walleye caught in regular sampling surveys and those seized as evidence to various charities. A commercial fish processor, like Lake Fish Company, is paid to clean donated fish and return the ready-to-cook fillets to the charity.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife began an investigation into Lake Fish Company in 2021 after the agency received tip that donated fish were stolen by the company and its employees. After an initial investigation showed evidence of theft, a search warrant was executed in November of that year with video surveillance, fish processing records, and fish packages and carcasses all being seized.
