Purchasing Officers Site Focuses on Laundering

Over the next few years, there was a widely-held view in the industry that certain US importers of were guilty of “honey laundering” and knowingly re-routed Chinese-produced honey through other countries to avoid tariffs. These suspicions were validated last year when the U.S. Justice Department indicted 15 people and six companies spanning from Asia to Germany and the U.S. for their roles in a honey laundering scheme that avoided nearly $80 million in anti-dumping duties and knowingly placed honey that was tainted with dangerous antibiotics into the U.S. food supply.

Asia Sends European-Banned Honey To U.S. Shores

A third or more of all the honey consumed in the U.S. is likely to have been smuggled in from China and may be tainted with illegal antibiotics and heavy metals.  A Food Safety News investigation has documented that millions of pounds of honey banned as unsafe in dozens of countries are being imported and sold here in record quantities. 

Wolff Honey To Be Destroyed

A U.S. District Court Judge has ordered the honey seized in the Alfred L. Wolff import fraud case destroyed. The 2,441 drums of honey is being held at various locations, mostly in the Chicago area.

Read the Degree of Forfeiture here.

Taiwanese Honey Importer Gets 30 Months For Illegal Imports

Chicago-A Taiwanese executive of several honey import companies was sentenced to 30 months in prison Friday, Nov. 5 for conspiring to avoid more than $5 million in U.S. anti-dumping duties by illegally importing Chinese-origin honey that was falsely identified as coming from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and India. This sentence resulted from an investigation conducted [...]

Indictments, Pleas, Sentences Mark the Honey Trade

In a flurry of activity, federal authorities indicted, arrested, taken pleas, and levied sentences of a variety of persons involved in international honey trade.

So far, only Chinese suppliers, middlemen transhippers, and U.S. importers have been identified. We trust that the investigation is continuing and that any purchasers that knowingly participated in the schemes will also be brought to justice.

Wash. State Importer Pleads Guilty To Making False Statements About Chinese Honey Imports

A Bellevue, Wash., businessman has pleaded guilty to criminal charges for his role in a scheme uncovered by federal agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to import contaminated honey from China.

Taiwanese Honey Importer Pleads Guilty to Importing Bogus, Mislabeled Honey

A Taiwanese executive of several honey import companies pleaded guilty Aug. 4 to conspiring to avoid more than $5 million in U.S. anti-dumping duties by illegally importing Chinese-origin honey that was falsely identified as coming from South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and India. This guilty plea is part of a large-scale investigation being conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).