Former Operator At E&S Fish Accused Of Stealing $108K In Seafood

ST. CHARLES, IL — Four people are accused of working together to steal more than $187,000 worth of fish from a Bensenville-based seafood distributor.

One of the defendants in the case, Ernesto Candia Campos, 48, is the former operator of E & S Fish Market in St. Charles, and three others facing felony charges, worked for Fortune Fish Company, according to court records and media reports.

Authorities say that between October 2018 and October 2021, Candia Campos would place an order online with Fortune Fish Company and then text three other defendants in the case, requesting they add additional fish to his order.

He would then pay them under the table, a total of $187,670 via Zelle payments, according to a criminal complaint filed last month in DuPage County Court. Over three years, the group stole more than 102 pounds of fish from Fortune Fish Company.

Candia Campas and the co-defendents in the case, Oscar Gil, 47, of Chicago, Francisco Arizmendi-Garcia, 38, of Carpentersville, and Jose Hibarra, 56, of Chicago, all face felony charges of conspiracy to commit theft and theft.

The charges were filed after representatives noticed something was up in October 2021 and called police to investigate, according to the Daily Herald. During a six-month time period that year, Fortune lost at least $4,000 of fish product per week.

An affidavit filed in DuPage County shows Fortune called police on Oct. 8, 2021, when Candia-Campos arrived to pick up an order, and detectives witnessed him wheeling out 125 pounds worth of fish valued at $2,258 after placing an order for 21 pounds of fish, which is valued at $237, according to the Daily Herald.