MS Coast seafood expert accused of stealing $3 million. Here’s how lawsuit says he did it
The American Shrimp Processors Association is suing retired Gulf Coast seafood specialist C. David Veal of Biloxi to recover $3 million or more the nonprofit group believes he stole.
Veal, who headed the ASPA after retiring in 2005 from Mississippi State University, has been arrested by Biloxi police on a charge of felony embezzlement.
The civil lawsuit accuses him of fraud, unjust enrichment, breaching his duty of trust, gross negligence and other wrongdoing. The group, which advocates for the shrimping industry, is asking a judge to award unspecified compensation, plus punitive damages, court costs and attorney’s fees.
The ASPA also wants an independent accountant or third party appointed to determine the total amount of the loss and a trust established for any recovered funds.
The civil case filed in Harrison County Circuit Court in Biloxi provides details about how Veal allegedly stole the money from May 2016 to July 2022, while he was executive director of the ASPA.
In response to the lawsuit, Veal has denied that he embezzled money or knows anything about financial wrongdoing at ASPA.
How lawsuit says embezzlement hidden
Veal worked for 35 years at Mississippi State University, retiring in 2005 as executive director of its Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi. Veal, who holds a doctorate in engineering from Clemson University, was once widely quoted on everything from oysters to termites, and co-authored multiple research papers on oysters, water quality and other topics.
Veal went to work as executive director of the ASPA at some point after his retirement.
The civil lawsuit says he stole money in multiple ways. He told the group he was paying lobbyists, advertising agencies and attorneys when the money was instead going to him. He even arranged meetings with these third parties, the lawsuit says, as a cover for the payments.
He also hid or misrepresented the amount of money the ASPA was receiving from unspecified settlements, the lawsuit says.
Over the six years, the lawsuit says, he created inaccurate or misleading financial reports, documents and data to justify his employment so that he could continue stealing money, the lawsuit says.
Veal allegedly used some of the stolen money to set up an annuity, or annuities, in his name, the lawsuit says.
Veal also destroyed certain ASPA records, including meeting minutes, and failed to file required tax documents, the lawsuit says.
Veal transferred or wrote checks to himself totaling more than $3.8 million, the lawsuit says. However, the ASPA had agreed to pay him almost $858,000 during that time period, or about $143,000 a year, leaving the total embezzled at about $3 million.
Sun Herald reporter Margaret Baker contributed to this report.
This story was originally published December 8, 2023 at 1:09 PM.
