As part of its efforts to 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 Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.  These sanctions include suspension of the businesses’ PACA licenses and barring the principal operators of the businesses from engaging in PACA-licensed businesses or other activities without approval from USDA. 

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

• Simply Fresh Markets Inc., operating out of Corona, CA, for failing to pay a $38,097 award in favor of a California seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Abdulrazik Dean Taha, Omar Milbis and Hanni Abdulrazik Taha were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Black Hog Farms Inc., operating out of East Palatka, FL, for failing to pay a $14,772 award in favor of a Florida seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jonathan Insetta and Luke A. Watkins were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• I5 Fresh Produce, operating out of Oakland, CA, for failing to pay a $13,073 award in favor of a Nevada seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Yahya Ahmed was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.
• Unikorn LLC, operating out of Riverside, CA, for failing to pay a $10,091 award in favor of a California seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jorge Avalos and Evelyn Figueroa were listed as members of the business.
• Felix Farm Supermarket Inc., operating out of West Covina, CA, for failing to pay a $2,613 award in favor of a California seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Fei Fan was listed as the officer, director and major stockholder of the business.

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.