‘Wicked Tuna’ star gets 4 years of probation

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A man who received government disability checks while he had a fishing job filmed by the reality television show “Wicked Tuna” has been sentenced in Vermont to four years of probation and ordered to pay more than $53,000 in restitution.

Gloucester, Massachusetts, resident Paul Hebert also was fined $5,000.

Defense attorney Paul Volk said he and his client think it’s a fair outcome.

The 51-year-old Hebert was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Burlington, Vermont. He pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of Social Security and Medicaid fraud.

The National Geographic Channel show follows several Gloucester-based boats that try to land bluefin tuna, which can weigh hundreds of pounds and fetch tens of thousands of dollars.