Department of Justice Fines Company for Fraudulent Stamps

18 Mar 2015

The Department of Justice recently fined American Pallet Recycling, LLC and its owner, Raymond Viola, $100,000 as part of a plea agreement after the facility was found to have certified pallets as compliant with the ISPM-15 regulations with a falsified stamp. Viola will also serve three years probation after pleading guilty to a felony count of falsifying the IPPC mark on wood pallets that had not been treated.

Viola created false stamps and certificates to designate pallets as heat treated per ISPM-15 regulations. It is the largest monetary penalty issued for using fraudulent stamps to certify heat treatment of wood packaging. The full statement from the DOJ is available here.