TV fisherman who lived in Marshfield and Weymouth pleads innocent to fraud

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http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20150811/NEWS/150819413/0/breaking_ajax



Marshfield native at the helm of the Kelly Ann, a tuna fishing boat that was featured on the reality TV show "Wicked Tuna." Hebert pleaded innocent to fraud charges on Monday.

TV fisherman who lived in Marshfield and Weymouth pleads innocent to fraud
By Associated Press
Posted Aug. 11, 2015 at 3:31 AM
Updated at 3:40 AM

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A Marshfield native who made a name for himself as a celebrity fisherman on the reality TV show “Wicked Tuna” pleaded innocent Monday to charges that he collected government benefits while claiming to be disabled.

Paul Hebert, a third-generation tuna fisherman and a former Weymouth resident, was indicted last month on federal charges that he accepted more than $44,000 in Social Security and Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2013.

While Hebert was harpooning huge fish and manning heavy fishing gear on the National Geographic Channel reality show, he also claimed he was unable to work and living alone with no income, prosecutors say.

The indictment states that Hebert was, in fact, living with a woman and their child, and that he owned a vehicle and was working – including tuna fishing. He appeared on “Wicked Tuna” in 2012 and 2013.