WALDOBORO, Maine — An elver fisherman from Waldoboro will serve 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to failing to file income tax reports for years in which he earned more than $370,000 harvesting the tiny eels.
Paul L. Griffin Jr., 44, was sentenced Monday in Lincoln County Superior Court to 364 days in jail with all but 90 days suspended, and one year of administrative release, according to a release from Maine Attorney General Janet Mills.
Griffin pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and failure to file and pay income taxes for the years 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2013, according to the release.
In addition, he substantially underreported his elver harvests to the Department of Marine Resources in 2012 and 2013, and failed to file Maine income tax returns for those years, during which he earned more than $370,000.
According to Mills, Griffin also will pay restitution of $67,762 and forfeit his ability to harvest elvers for the 2016 season. He has already paid $6,500 in restitution and will be required to make regular payments toward the remaining balance.
Mills cautioned harvesters to report their harvests truthfully to the DMR to allow officials to effectively manage and conserve the elver fishery in Maine.
“Elver harvesting can be extremely lucrative, but we must take management of the resource very seriously, or the fishery could be gone for good,” Mills said in the release. “A few bad actors could jeopardize the entire fishery. This case demonstrates excellent collaboration between different state agencies and the Attorney General’s Office appreciates the cooperation we received.”
This case was investigated by the Maine Revenue Services’ Criminal Investigations Unit and the Department of Marine Resources. Assistant Attorney General Gregg D. Bernstein handled this matter for the Attorney General’s Criminal Division.
Griffin was the third person accused of not disclosing elver fishing income to be sentenced in the past two years, Bernstein said Thursday. He said there are half a dozen similar cases pending.