The Boise Cascade Company pleaded guilty and was sentenced on April 27 for a felony violation of the Lacey Act related to its involvement in a timber trafficking scheme aimed at evading countervailing and anti-dumping duties. The company was ordered to pay a fine of $6,382,000—twice the gross profits it made from the illegal wood—and must implement a compliance plan. This marks the third federal criminal enforcement action arising from this large-scale duty evasion scheme.
The case highlights efforts by authorities to address illegal timber imports that undermine American security and commerce. "As I made clear at last week’s TIMBER Working Group Roundtable event hosted by ENRD, we must thwart efforts of foreign bad actors who engage in illegal timber mining to finance other illicit and dangerous activities," said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. "Boise Cascade’s guilty plea is a significant step toward ending illegal timber shipments from entering our country, thereby bolstering American security and safeguarding American citizens from threats of transnational criminal organizations."
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson said, "Boise Cascade either knew about or was willfully blind to the illegal importation of the plywood they were purchasing from Horizon Plywood." He continued, "This scheme defrauded taxpayers of import duties and undercut law-abiding competitors by importing and selling between $25 million and $65 million worth of plywood products. By purchasing these illegal imports, Boise Cascade helped perpetuate the scheme." U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida said, "Trade fraud is not a paperwork violation. It is theft from the American taxpayer and an attack on lawful American commerce... Today’s guilty plea and sentence make clear that companies that turn a blind eye to fraud in pursuit of profit will be held accountable." Acting Special Agent in Charge Jose Figueroa of Homeland Security Investigations Miami added, "This case highlights the importance of collaboration between federal agencies to disrupt illegal importation schemes and hold responsible parties accountable."
Court documents show that Boise Cascade's Pompano location purchased more than $30 million worth of hardwood plywood from Horizon Plywood between 2018 through 2021 while knowing or being willfully blind to its unlawful origin from China through Malaysia with falsified declarations—a violation facilitated even after learning about federal investigations into Horizon's practices.
Boise Cascade operates as a publicly traded company with distribution operations including one in Pompano; it continued business with Horizon after learning about government scrutiny into Horizon's warehouse activities as recently as January 2021.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida oversees an area spanning about 15,197 square miles across nine counties serving more than seven million residents according to its official website. The office prosecutes federal crimes—including cases like this—and manages civil cases for the government across multiple branch offices such as Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, Fort Pierce, and Key West according to its official website. With approximately 223 assistant attorneys supported by additional staff members according to its official website, it works under authority granted by the Department of Justice according to its official website.
ENRD participates in cross-agency law enforcement through initiatives like DOJ’s Trade Fraud Task Force designed specifically against trade fraud impacting critical domestic industries.
