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Louisiana Firm, Officers Found Guilty of Falsifying USDA Certificates — Fined More Than $1 Million

Press Release
This document originally appeared at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/press/2002/10/crowninc_ppq.html
Date Modified: 2002-10-15

WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2002—The US. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service today announced that a Metairie, Louisiana-based corporation, along with its principal officers, plead guilty to counterfeiting and using phytosanitary certificates of the USDA, and were ordered to pay more than $1 million in fines.

Crown Products, Inc. president, Kee Lee and vice president, Jeffrey Teague, were sentenced to 5 years probation and each ordered to pay $250,000 in fines. The company, which exports various agriculture commodities, such as dry beans and popcorn, to customers worldwide, must also pay a separate fine of $500,000.

The case, resulting from a 3-year investigation by APHIS investigators and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Louisiana, proved that in many instances Crown submitted false phytosanitary certificates, which they counterfeited in-house, using a special computer program. The certificates were signed by the company’s officers, falsely representing the signatures as those of authorized USDA officials, and used in overseas commercial transactions.

A phytosanitary certificate, which bears the USDA seal, is required for many agricultural exports. This document certifies that the plants or plant products listed on the certificate have been inspected according to appropriate procedures and are free of quarantine pests or diseases of concern to the importing country.

Phytosanitary certificates are critical in maintaining foreign markets for American agricultural products. The United States exports billions of dollars in agricultural commodities each month. The integrity of USDA and these exports are jeopardized when phytosanitary certificates are falsified.

Crown Products, Inc. and the two men must pay an additional $120,000 for the cost of the investigation, $58,000 in restitution and $69,500 in fees.