{"id":4188,"date":"2016-02-08T14:02:27","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T20:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/supfrt.com\/news\/?p=4188"},"modified":"2016-02-08T14:02:27","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T20:02:27","slug":"13-million-fine-for-illegal-hardwood-imports-largest-lacey-act-penalty-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/supfrt.com\/news\/2016\/02\/08\/13-million-fine-for-illegal-hardwood-imports-largest-lacey-act-penalty-ever\/","title":{"rendered":"$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DOJ<\/a>$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever<\/p>\n

Lumber Liquidators Inc. Sentenced for Illegal Importation of Hardwood and Related Environmental Crimes – Flooring Company to Pay $13 Million, Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever.<\/p>\n

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Lumber Liquidators Inc. was sentenced in federal court\u00a0and will pay more than $13 million in criminal fines, community service and forfeited assets related to its illegal importation of hardwood flooring, much of which was manufactured in China from timber that had been illegally logged in far eastern Russia, in the habitat of the last remaining Siberian tigers and Amur leopards in the world.<\/p>\n

The company will pay $13.15 million, including $7.8 million in criminal fines, $969,175 in criminal forfeiture and more than $1.23 million in community service payments.\u00a0 Lumber Liquidators has also agreed to a five-year term of organizational probation and mandatory implementation of a government-approved environmental compliance plan and independent audits.\u00a0 In addition, the company will pay more than $3.15 million in cash through a related civil forfeiture.\u00a0 The more than $13.15 million dollar penalty is the largest financial penalty for timber trafficking under the Lacey Act and one of the largest Lacey Act penalties ever.<\/p>\n

Lumber Liquidators pleaded guilty and was charged in October 2015 with one felony count of importing goods through false statements and four misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act, which makes it a crime to import timber that was taken in violation of the laws of a foreign country and to transport falsely-labeled timber across international borders into the United States.\u00a0 The charges describe Lumber Liquidators\u2019 use of timber that was illegally logged in Far East Russia, as well as false statements on Lacey Act declarations which obfuscated the true species and source of the timber.\u00a0 This is the first felony conviction related to the import or use of illegal timber and the largest criminal fine ever under the Lacey Act.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe case against Lumber Liquidators shows the true cost of turning a blind eye to the environmental laws that protect endangered wildlife,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General John C. Cruden for the Department of Justice\u2019s Environment and Natural Resources Division.\u00a0 \u201cThis company left a trail of corrupt transactions and habitat destruction. \u00a0Now they will pay a price for this callous and careless pursuit of profit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis prosecution has been the result of hard work of federal agents and prosecutors who have been dedicated to protecting our natural habitats in the United States and around the world,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Dana Boente of the Eastern District of Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cBy knowingly and illegally sourcing timber from vulnerable forests in Asia and other parts of the world, Lumber Liquidators made American consumers unwittingly complicit in the ongoing destruction of some of the world’s last remaining intact forests,\u201d said Director Dan Ashe of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.\u00a0 \u201cAlong with hastening the extinction of the highly endangered Siberian tiger and many other native species, illegal logging driven by the company’s greed threatens the many people who depend on sustainable use of these forests for food, clean water, shelter and legitimate jobs.\u00a0 These unprecedented sanctions show how seriously we take illegal trade, and I am grateful to the Service special agents and wildlife inspectors, Homeland Security agents, and Justice Department attorneys who halted Lumber Liquidators’ criminal acts and held the company accountable under the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a joint statement of facts filed with the court, from 2010 to 2013, Lumber Liquidators repeatedly failed to follow its own internal procedures and failed to take action on self-identified \u201cred flags.\u201d\u00a0 Those red flags included imports from high risk countries, imports of high risk species, imports from suppliers who were unable to provide documentation of legal harvest and imports from suppliers who provided false information about their products.\u00a0 Despite internal warnings of risk and non-compliance, very little changed at Lumber Liquidators.<\/p>\n

To see the entire news release<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever Lumber Liquidators Inc. Sentenced for Illegal Importation of Hardwood and Related Environmental Crimes – Flooring Company to Pay $13 Million, Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever. Lumber Liquidators Inc. was sentenced in federal court\u00a0and will pay more than $13 million in criminal fines, community service […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":""},"categories":[6,27,24,70],"tags":[14,28,71,48],"yoast_head":"\n$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever - Superior Freight Services Inc.<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/supfrt.com\/news\/2016\/02\/08\/13-million-fine-for-illegal-hardwood-imports-largest-lacey-act-penalty-ever\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever - Superior Freight Services Inc.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"$13 Million Fine for Illegal Hardwood Imports-Largest Lacey Act Penalty Ever Lumber Liquidators Inc. 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