As part of its efforts to enforce the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act and ensure fair trading practices within the U.S. produce industry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has imposed sanctions on five produce businesses for failing to meet their contractual obligations to the sellers of produce that 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:

• Ultra Fresh LLC, operating out of Westwood, NJ, failed to pay a $61,319 award in favor of a Minnesota seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, William Hidalgo was listed as a member of the business.
• Bain Distributors Inc., operating out of Santa Fe Spring, CA, failed to pay a $30,647 award in favor of a California seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Alfred Lares was listed as the officer, director and/or major stockholder of the business.
• Fresh International Inc., operating out of Nashville, TN, failed to pay a $12,468 award in favor of a Missouri seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Jaquelina Lopez, Manuel Arroyo and Dulce Nieto were listed as the officers, directors and/or major stockholders of the business.
• Triple Fresh Produce LLP, operating out of Nogales, AZ, failed to pay a $5,130 award in favor of a Florida seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Adam Polan, and Manny Dinis were listed as partners of the business.  Another principal of the business at the time of the order was Enrique “KiKi” Heredia.  He has challenged his responsibly connected status.
• Spring Creek Produce LLC, operating out of Greenfield, TN, failed to pay a $2,080 award in favor of a Minnesota seller.  As of the issuance date of the reparation order, Bobby Callins, Steven Willis, Jr., Phil Gordon and Chris Gordon were listed as 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.  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.