Release No.: 077-17
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2017 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has cited ABL Farms Inc., operating out of Atlanta, Ga., for failure to pay for produce.
The company failed to pay a total of $2,600,701 to 18 sellers for 413 lots of produce, which it purchased, received and accepted in interstate and foreign commerce from May 2015 to September 2015. This is in violation of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). As a result of these actions, ABL Farms Inc. cannot operate in the produce industry until Apr. 27, 2019, at which time it may reapply for a PACA license.
The company’s principal, Aaron B. Letsinger, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee until Apr. 27, 2018, and then only with the posting of a USDA-approved surety bond.
The PACA Division, which is part of USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), regulates fair trading practices of produce businesses that are operating subject to PACA including buyers, sellers, commission merchants, dealers and brokers within the fruit and vegetable industry.
In the past three years, USDA resolved approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. Our experts also assisted more than 8,000 callers with issues valued at approximately $140 million. These are just two examples of how USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.
For further information, contact Josephine E. Jenkins, Chief, Investigative Enforcement Branch, at (202) 720-6873, or by email at PACAInvestigations@ams.usda.gov.
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