Story highlights Businessman accused of trying to get around federal fishing quota

Prosecutors said he sold fish to wholesaler

(CNN) Federal authorities arrested the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the Northeast early Friday on charges that he illegally caught protected species of fish for years and sold them for "bags of cash."

Carlos Rafael, sometimes referred to as "The Codfather" for his prominence in commercial fishing, is accused of lying to federal authorities about the quantities and species of fish his fleet of boats caught in order to evade quotas aimed at guaranteeing sustainable fisheries.

The businessman then allegedly sold the ill-gotten fish to a wholesaler in New York City for "bags of cash," according to an affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Carlos Rafael in October 2014. Rafael is sometimes referred to as "The Codfather" for his prominence in commercial fishing.

Rafael is accused of conspiracy and submitting falsified records to evade federal fishing quotas. Fish were sometimes placed in hidden compartments and other times mislabeled as different species in an effort to avoid quotas, according to a source familiar with the probe.

Rafael's business, Carlos Seafood, Inc. in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the Northeast, according to prosecutors.

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