LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska man and wife who sold fish they had illegally caught in public waters in Kansas and other reservoirs have been sentenced to probation.
Federal prosecutors for Nebraska say 49-year-old Phong Duong and 46-year-old Oanh Pham were each sentenced Friday to two years’ probation for illegally taking, transporting and selling fish. They were also ordered to pay $16,000 in restitution.
Prosecutors say that between May 2013 and July 2016, Duong and Pham exceeded the limits on catching fish from the Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge in northern Kansas and other reservoirs. To avoid detection, the couple would routinely change fishing spots, stash fish at off-site locations, and use “straw fishermen” — including children — to conceal fish taken in excess of limits. They’d then take the fish back home to Nebraska and clean and bag them at their Lincoln home before selling the fish.
