Carlos Rafael, owner of New Bedford-based Carlos Seafood, will plead guilty to evading fishing quotas and smuggling profits to Portugal, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts.

Rafael is scheduled to appear in federal court in Boston on March 16 at 2 p.m. There is no plea deal, according to Liz McCarthy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The office of William Kettlewell, Rafael's attorney, declined comment.

Rafael, 64, of Dartmouth, was accused on one count of conspiring to falsify reports submitted to the federal government, 25 counts of submitting falsified records regarding the amount and types of fish his fleet brought in, and one count of bulk cash smuggling. Rafael was previously arrested on a criminal complaint filed in February 2016, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Carlos Seafood, Inc. is “one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the northeastern United States.”

The charges resulted from an investigation in June 2015. Two undercover agents posed as organized crime figures from Russia and met with Rafael to negotiate purchasing the business, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

In those meetings, Rafael allegedly provided the undercover agents with information about how he operated off the books by selling fish for cash, and coordinated with boat captains to falsify federal fishing records. According to the Department of Justice, Rafael told the undercover agents that his most recent dealing with a New York City buyer resulted in him earning $668,000 in less than six months.

Rafael misreported approximately 815,812 pounds of fish, according to the Department of Justice. Rafael allegedly reported the fish as haddock, or some other abundant species subject to high quotas, when in fact the fish was cod, sole, or other species subject to strict quotas.

Officials said that the charge of submitting falsified federal records can result in up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. Conspiracy charges can result in a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The charges of bulk cash smuggling and monetary structuring provide a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. The release notes that actual sentences for federal crimes are often less than the maximum penalty.

Federal District Court Judge William Young will give the sentence hearing in approximately three months, said McCarthy.

Co-defendant Antonio Freitas, a deputy for the Bristol County Sheriff's Office, is facing charges of bulk cash smuggling and a count of structuring the export of U.S. currency. He is accused of helping Rafael smuggle cash through security at Logan International Airport. Freitas' jury trial will resume sometime after May 1, although a definitive date has not been announced.

Rafael's trial, originally scheduled for February 13, was pushed back to March 20. Kettlewell cited a scheduling conflict as the primary reason for the change, but was also trying to resolve the case with the U.S. Attorney's Office prior to trial, according to court documents.