Bellevue broker accused of falsely labeling fish from China

A Bellevue fish broker has been charged with labeling thousands of pounds of fish bought in China as halibut caught in the U.S., and then selling the fish at a profit to stores and restaurants, according to court papers.

Kevin Steele, the owner of Mallard Cove Resources, was charged today in U.S. District Court in Seattle with false-labeling of food and the introduction of misbranded foods onto the U.S. market. Steele, contacted today, said the charges were the result of negotiations between his attorney and federal prosecutors.

He will appear Friday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian Tsuchida, and said he plans to plead guilty.

"I'm just trying to minimize the impact on my family and my business," he said. "I've never been in trouble before ... these guys don't fool around."

He declined to address the specifics of the charges, saying, "I don't know what I can and can't say."

According to the charges and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle, Steele is accused of purchasing thousands of pounds of Greenland turbot, also known as Greenland halibut, imported from China by an East Coast dealer.

Steele allegedly shipped the fish to a processing plant where it was repackaged and labeled as the more-desirable — and more expensive — Atlantic or Pacific halibut. The labels also claim the fish was a product of the U.S. or Russia, according to the charges.

Most of the fish was sold to restaurants, stores and consumers in Utah and Texas, Oesterle said.

The charges allege the ruse had been going on since at least 2003 and continued through 2006. Oesterle said the amount of money involved exceeds $500,000.

Steele, in a biography posted on Mallard Cove's Web site, claims deep roots in the fishing industry, where he started as a teenager working his grandfather's cannery in Alaska, and later as a deck hand on a fishing boat sailing out of Dutch Harbor. He is now president and CEO of Mallard Cove.

"It's all about building relationships," Steele says in his biography. "I treat my customers like I treat my close friends."

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com