United States v. Tip the Scale LLC, dba LD Kitchen and Bath

On June 13, 2024, a court sentenced Tip the Scale LLC, dba LD Kitchen and Bath (LDKB) following the acceptance of its guilty plea. The company will pay a $110,000 criminal fine into the Lacey Act Reward Fund and an additional $250,000 administrative Customs penalty. LDKB also will complete a three-year term of probation and implement an environmental compliance plan. LDKB pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging importation by means of false statements for falsely declaring timber imports (18 U.S.C. § 542).

LDKB is an importer and retailer of wood cabinets and vanities based in Tacoma, Washington. Starting in early 2020, LDKB declared imports of wooden cabinets as various false species of timber that had been harvested and exported in Malaysia. By doing so, the company evaded more than $800,000 in duties on Chinese-produced cabinets. Investigation and forensic testing at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Laboratory showed that, the cabinets and vanities were made from temperate species that did not grow in Malaysia, and that the products had been exported from China. As part of the agreement, LDKB has paid more than $800,000 in outstanding duties, and forfeited three shipping containers of wooden cabinets, that were donated to a local chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.