August 27, 2018 — Last Friday night, without any notice, the U.S. Labor Department seized the bank accounts of the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange, leaving the fish auction and seafood processor unable to pay fishermen for landed fish and imperiling even further its ability to profitably operate on the Gloucester waterfront.
CASE owner Kristian Kristensen first knew there was trouble afoot when he started receiving text messages from his bank that his business balance had dipped below $25.
“I didn’t put the pieces together until Saturday,” Kristensen said Thursday. “That’s when I knew it was the Department of Labor.”
What followed was a business nightmare, as Kristensen tried to contact fishermen and other vendors about his inability to access his bank accounts for payments.
“Obviously at that point, checks were bouncing all over the place,” Kristensen said.
On Thursday afternoon, following two frantic days, Kristensen was still immersed in negotiations with Labor Department officials to regain control of his bank accounts and establish a plan to repay the balance owed in a manner that will allow him to remain in business.
“We’re about halfway there, but not all the way,” Kristensen said late Thursday afternoon. “We’re not quite there yet, but almost. It’s not like I don’t want to pay this.”