Eight Sushi restaurants in the city of San Diego have been convicted of criminal fraud for serving 'lobster' sushi rolls that contained no lobster in them.
According to the official report, the culprits would substitute the premium ingredient with less expensive seafood like crawfish or pollock.
As stated in the press release, the restaurants found guilty in the investigation are: Little Tokyo on Carmel Mountain Road; Edamami Sushi & Roll on Santo Road; Wonderful Sushi on Black Mountain Road; Kim, Sun Young on Womble Road; OB Sushi on Newport Ave.; Riki Sushi on 30th St.; Wonderful Sushi on University Ave.; and RB Sushi 2 on El Cajon Blvd.
According to the document, "the undisclosed substitution of the cheaper seafood is a criminal violation of California law that prohibits the adulteration of food and the false advertising or misbranding of food items." The establishments were fined a total of $14,000 and were asked to pay an additional $5,000 to reimburse investigative costs.
"The public should be able to count on truthful advertising from anyone doing business in San Diego. Honest customer service is not only required by law, it is good business," said City Attorney Jan Goldsmith in the statement. "Our office will continue to prosecute businesses that lie to their consumers."
The owners of both Wonderful Sushi establishments spoke up to NBC San Diego regarding the findings. The first, located in Rancho Penasquitos, said he had no intention of misleading customers; saying that his restaurant was using Langostino, which is considered as part of the Lobster family in other parts of the country.
The second, located in Hillcrest, said the whole thing was the result of a mix-up with the previous owners of the establishment.
