AUGUSTA, Maine - A Maine elver fisherman will spend 90 days in jail after pleading guilty to tax charges that include substantially underreporting his harvest in 2012 and 2013.
Paul Griffin has been sentenced to a 364-day jail term with all but 90 days suspended and a year of administrative release. He pleaded guilty to income tax evasion and failure to file and pay income taxes for 2009 and 2011 through 2013.
Attorney General Janet Mills says the 44-year-old Griffin failed to file Maine tax returns for years during which he earned more than $370,000 each year.
Griffin will pay $67,762 in restitution and forfeit his ability to harvest elvers for the 2016 season. Elvers are baby eels that sometimes sell for more than $2,000 per pound. They are used in making sushi.
