NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday that Gibson Guitar will be fined $350,000 for importing illegal wood from overseas.
In 2009, the Nashville-based company was raided by the FBI on allegations that they illegally purchased and imported ebony wood from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India, violating the Lacy Act.
Under an agreement with federal authorities, Gibson will pay a $300,000 penalty and also a community service payment of $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to be used to "promote the conservation, identification and propagation of protected tree species used in the musical instrument industry and the forests where those species are found."
Gibson will withdraw its claims to the wood seized in the course of the criminal investigation, including Madagascar ebony totaling $261,844.
The company will not face any additional charges, provided they fully carry out its obligations under the agreement, and commits no future violations of law, said the Department of Justice.
"As a result of this investigation and criminal enforcement agreement, Gibson has acknowledged that it failed to act on information that the Madagascar ebony it was purchasing may have violated laws intended to limit overharvesting and conserve valuable wood species from Madagascar, a country which has been severely impacted by deforestation," said Asst. Attorney General Moreno in a news release.
"Gibson has ceased acquisitions of wood species from Madagascar and recognizes its duty under the U.S. Lacey Act to guard against the acquisition of wood of illegal origin by verifying the circumstances of its harvest and export, which is good for American business and American consumers."
Since May 2008, it has been illegal under the Lacey Act to import into the United States plants and plant products that have been harvested and exported in violation of the laws of another country.
Congress extended the protections of the Lacey Act, the nation's oldest resource protection law, to these products in an effort to address the environmental and economic impact of illegal logging around the world.
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