Tip the Scale, which operates its business under the name L&D Kitchen and Bath, said the imports were a false species of wood harvested in Malaysia. Between January and May 2020, the company imported five shipping containers of wooden cabinets and vanities, evading $850,000 in import duties and the oversight of Chinese-harvested timber.
“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that companies will be held accountable for violating environmental laws and deceiving customs authorities,” said special agent in charge Robert Hammer, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations operations in the Pacific Northwest. “By falsifying import documentation, L&D Kitchen and Bath sought to gain an unfair advantage over competitors and evaded important environmental protections.
“The United States was the first nation to criminalize transnational trafficking of plants and plant products, which includes home goods made with wood,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said. “Enforcing the Lacey Act is our best tool in combating timber trafficking.”