WASHINGTON, DC - In October 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it had imposed sanctions on Academy Fruit Company as part of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA). As the company has now satisfied a reparation order in the amount of $104,195 issued under PACA, the sanctions imposed on Academy Fruit Company have been lifted.

Direct from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service:

The Clovis, California, company can continue operating in the produce industry upon applying for and being issued a PACA license. Jayson Paul Scarborough was listed as a member of the business and may now be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee.

PACA provides an administrative forum to handle disputes involving produce transactions; this may result in the USDA’s issuance of a reparation order that requires damages to be paid by those not meeting their contractual obligations in buying and selling fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. The USDA is required to suspend the license or impose sanctions on an unlicensed business that fails to pay PACA reparations awarded against it as well as impose restrictions against those principals determined to be responsibly connected to the business when the order is issued. Those individuals, including sole proprietors, partners, members, managers, officers, directors, or major stockholders, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee without USDA approval.

Once a reparation order is fully satisfied and it is confirmed that there are not any outstanding unpaid awards, the USDA lifts the employment restrictions of the previously named, responsibly connected individuals. The USDA also requires any unlicensed company that fully satisfies all unpaid reparation awards to obtain a license if it continues to operate in the industry.

The PACA Division, which is in the Fair Trade Practices Program in the Agricultural Marketing Service, 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, the USDA resolved approximately 3,500 PACA claims involving more than $58 million. PACA staff also assisted more than 7,800 callers with issues valued at approximately $148 million. These are just two examples of how the USDA continues to support the fruit and vegetable industry.

For further information, contacts, and to read the press release in its entirety, please check out the link here.

USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service