USDA files action against GM Brokerage, Felda Vegetable Farms
USDA files action against GM Brokerage, Felda Vegetable Farms
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has filed an administrative action under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act against Gregory Melton, doing business as GM Brokerage. The company, operating from Tennessee, allegedly failed to remit net proceeds to 22 produce sellers in the amount of $440,902 from December 2013 through October 2014.
The USDA also filed an administrative complaint under PACA against Felda Vegetable Farms Inc., operating from Florida, which allegedly failed to make payment to six produce sellers in the amount of $232,346 from March 2014 through June 2015.
Melton and Felda Vegetable Farms Inc. will have an opportunity to request a hearing, but should USDA find that they committed repeated and flagrant violations, they would be barred from the produce industry for two years. Furthermore, Melton and Felda's principal could not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee for one year and then only with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.
In the past three years, the USDA resolved approximately 3,700 PACA claims involving more than $66 million. Its experts also assisted more than 7,100 callers with issues valued at approximately $100 million.
