USDA restricts PACA violators in Florida, New Jersey and Texas
August 4, 2024
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failing to meet contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.
The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:
- L&L Produce LLC, operating out of Houston, for failing to pay a $367,827 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Adrian Luna was listed as the sole member of the business.
- JR Produce and Food Service Inc., operating out of El Paso, TX, for failing to pay a $46,980 award in favor of a Minnesota seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Marcos Enriquez Jr. and Daniel Enriquez were listed as the officers, directors and major shareholders of the business.
- Golden Valley Group Corp., operating out of Pembroke, FL, for failing to pay a $16,461 award in favor of a Florida seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Aleksei Attara was listed as the sole officer, director and stockholder of the business.
- Miami Growers Inc., operating out of Jersey City, NJ, for failing to pay a $16,426 award in favor of a Hawaii seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Bhavin Hajariwala and Kantibhai Patel were listed as the officers, directors and major shareholders of the business.
- South Texas Broker LLC, operating out of Mission, TX, for failing to pay a $12,882 award in favor of a Texas seller. As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Samuel Arias Galdeano and Jesus Ovalle were listed as the members of the business.
These sanctions include suspending the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed business or other activities without approval from USDA.
In the past three years, USDA handled more than 2,340 cases valued at $126.3 million. PACA staff also assisted over 5,600 callers with issues valued at $146.7 million.
