As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the sellers of produce they purchased and failing to pay reparation awards issued under the PACA. 

The following businesses and individuals are currently restricted from operating in the produce industry:

• Epic Fresh Produce LLC, operating out of Ft. Lauderdale, FL, for failing to pay a $97,319 award in favor of an Arizona seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Mario Cardenas was listed a member or manager of the business.
• PK Produce Inc., operating out of Canton, OH, for failing to pay a $23,370 award in favor of a New York seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Paul Kasapis was listed as the officer, director and/or major stockholder of the business.
• Terra Organica Inc., operating out of Bellingham, WA, for failing to pay a $15,706 award in favor of an Oregon seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Stephen Trinkaus was listed as the officer, director and/or major stockholder of the business.
• Academy Fruit Company LLC, operating out of Clovis, CA, for failing to pay a $9,600 award in favor of an Illinois seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jayson Paul Scarborough was listed as a member or manager of the business.
• EJ Produce Inc., operating out of Dallas, for failing to pay a $1,094 award in favor of a Texas seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Julio Guzman and Eugenio Cuellar were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders 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.  By issuing these penalties, USDA continues to enforce the prompt and full payment for produce while protecting the rights of sellers and buyers in the marketplace.

In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,350 PACA claims involving more than $63 million.  PACA staff also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $156 million.