A husband and wife in Florida have pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally import and sell hundreds of shipments of plywood from China between 2016–2020 in violation of the Lacey Act and customs laws and evading $42 million in duties.
The couple, Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana, formed seven shell companies in the U.S. to import the hardwood plywood over the years. Starting in 2017, their companies avoided paying duties on the Chinese plywood by falsely declaring the hardwood plywood to be either the product of another company or a species of wood not impacted by the duties, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In one instance in July 2018, a shipment the couple claimed was from Russia in fact turned out to have originated in Qingdao, China, and was shipped to Port Everglades, Fla., through the Panama Canal.
“After federal authorities stopped such a shipment through Panama, the Quintanas used a different tactic to evade duties by shipping Chinese-produced hardwood plywood to Malaysia, then transferring the wood to new containers to be shipped onward to the United States,” the DOJ stated. “This change of containers was intended to better conceal that the plywood originated from China.”
They also falsely declared some shipments of softwood plywood to be duty-free Parana pine to evade an 8% general duty on imports.
Along with the conspiracy, Noel Quintana also pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling and one count of importing plant products without filing a proper declaration and the name of the country where the plant was harvested. Kelsy Quintana pleaded guilty to two counts of importing plant products without filing a proper declaration and the name of the country where the plant was harvested.
Noel Quintana faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count, and Kelsy Quintana faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Their sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2024.
