A Florida husband and wife, Noel and Kelsy Hernandez Quintana, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import plywood contrary to the Lacey Act and customs laws, and to selling plywood products that were illegally imported and sold. Noel Quintana also pleaded guilty to one count of smuggling and one count of violation the Lacey Act. Kelsy Quintana also pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the Lacey Act. The total loss of duties owed on the illegally imported wood products was approximately $42 million. The plywood’s market value was between $25 million and $65 million.
According to court filings, the Quintanas incorporated seven companies in the United States – naming relatives or friends as corporate officers and agents – and these shell companies imported hundreds of shipments of plywood products into the United States between February 2016 and December 2020. The Quintanas also incorporated a financial shell company through which they accepted payments from purchasers for the plywood they imported in violation of laws, including the Lacey Act and customs laws.
Before April 2017, the Quintana’s importing shell companies imported containers of plywood into the United States and almost exclusively declared them to be hardwood plywood imported from China. But after April 2017, the companies evaded applicable duties by falsely declaring their hardwood plywood imports from China to be either the product of another country or to be made with a species of wood not subject to...
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