SEATTLE, Wash. — Lam’s Seafood in Seattle’s Chinatown International District says Nick Shirley’s latest video pushes misleading claims about its business.
Nick Shirley is a right-wing independent journalist, and his latest video claims to investigate EBT fraud in the CID and Little Saigon.
“He’s going after the big headlines, truth be damned,” said Teizi Mersai, Operations Manager for Lam’s Seafood.
In Shirley’s video, which has nearly 600,000 views since it was released on Wednesday, Shirley and his team enter Lam’s Seafood on September 20th and try to purchase two items.
Shirley, along with a woman in a pink hat, attempts to purchase what they believe is a can of Spam and a package of sushi, which rings up to a total of $120.
The woman is seen on video speaking Vietnamese to the cashier before the items are scanned.
Mersai says Shirley and his team actually tried to buy a pack of spring rolls and a can of Fortune luncheon meat, and he clarifies that the Vietnamese-speaking woman actually asked for a case of the luncheon meat, which is why the total came out to $120.
Shirley and his team are seen trying to use an EBT card to buy the items, but Shirley does not have the correct PIN number, so they exit the store.
Mersai says his cashier never sold the items to Shirley since Shirley didn’t have a PIN number.
“They walk out with nothing because there was no transaction,” said Mersai.
After Shirley leaves Lam’s to scold the Vietnamese-speaking woman, he returns to the store and confronts the cashier.
“Excuse me. How come you sold this Spam and sushi for 120 dollars?” said Shirley.
Mersai says Shirley’s video still suggests Lam’s Seafood is involved in EBT fraud, but Mersai pushes back, saying Lam’s Seafood cannot turn away anyone who tries to buy groceries with an EBT card.
“We are obligated to make sure we sell it to them,” said Mersai. “Just because I see someone who looks transient or I feel like they’re going to be committing EBT fraud, I can’t say ‘sorry, I’m not going to sell it to you.’”
Mersai maintains Lam’s Seafood does not collaborate in EBT fraud schemes; in fact, they try to fight back against EBT fraud suspects if they see them in the business’s parking lot.
“Some of our brave souls, employees, take pictures of them and then we provide these pictures to DSHS,” said Mersai.
Since Shirley’s video was released online, Mersai is disheartened to hear from customers who tell him they have watched the video and will no longer shop at Lam’s Seafood.
“We started getting calls from not just customers but people we’ve never heard of, who are calling and cursing over the phone, yelling at us, saying you guys are cheating customers, cheating people,” said Mersai.
The backlash has been so great that Mersai produced this video on Lam’s Seafood’s social media pages, calling out Shirley’s video and giving viewers a behind-the-scenes look at how they operate.
Mersai says the cashier seen interacting with Shirley in his video has had to take several days off because of the unwanted attention on the store.
He also says Shirley never contacted Lam’s Seafood before, during, or after filming concluded, so his staff didn’t know they were being filmed for a YouTube page with a massive following.
Mersai says he has tried to contact Shirley through social media and email but has not heard back.
KIRO 7 is also still waiting for Shirley’s response.
“I don’t even care if he apologizes. Just take it down, and he could put up a new correct one. We would actually be willing to help him create that video,” said Mersai.
Mersai says Shirley’s video has not only led to lost revenue but Lam’s Seafood has also lost customers and they are looking into taking legal action against Shirley.
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