The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has imposed sanctions on six 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 (PACA). 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 the USDA.
The companies/individuals currently restricted from operating in the produce industry are:
- RC Pro Corp. (Fort Myers, Fla.) for failing to pay $18,244 in favor of a Texas seller. Raidel Cruz Suarez was listed as the sole officer, director, and stockholder of the business.
- Breadberry Lakewood LLC (Lakewood, N.J.) for failing to pay $61,572 in favor of a New York seller. Samual Gluck was listed as the sole member of the business.
- Indita Produce LLC (Pharr, Tex.) for failing to pay $13,415 in favor of a Texas seller. Demetrio Bisbardis was listed as the sole member of the business.
- Roberson Onion Corporation (Hazlehurst, Ga.) for failing to pay a $258,680 award in favor of a Georgia seller. Steve Roberson was listed as the sole officer, director, and stockholder of the business.
- US Cargo Solutions LLC (Loxahatchee, Fla.) for failing to pay a $18,135 award in favor of a Florida seller. Cesar Merino and Salvador Avelar were listed as the members of the business.
- Trooex LLC (Tucson, Ariz.) for failing to pay a $35,600 award in favor of a Texas seller. Shawn Mongan and Nitzelle Coenen were listed as the members of the business.
USDA has also filed administrative complaints against these companies for alleged violations of PACA. They are:
- Produce and More Enterprise LLC, operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to seven produce sellers for $213,944 from December 2021 through February 2023.
- Lucero Produce LLC, operating from Colorado, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to 14 produce sellers for $126,626 from June 2022 through September 2022.
- Roberson Onion Corp. (doing business as Roberson Produce) operating from Georgia, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to 12 produce sellers for $889,309 from March 2023 through September 2023.
- JJD Produce LLC, operating from California, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to nine produce sellers for $458,339 from December 2021 through November 2022.
- Riba Foods, Inc., operating from Texas, allegedly failed to make payment promptly to seven produce sellers for $948,577 from October 2022 through May 2023.
Click here for an overview of companies that previously violated PACA.
For more information:
Penny Robinson-Landrigan (sanctions)
USDA
Tel.: +1 (202) 720-2890
PACAdispute@usda.gov
www.ams.usda.gov