Boise Cascade pleads guilty in illegal Chinese plywood import scheme

Boise Cascade Company has pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act and agreed to pay a $6.38 million fine for its role in a scheme involving illegally imported Chinese plywood, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The company purchased hardwood plywood from Horizon Plywood that had been routed through Malaysia to avoid U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duties. Prosecutors said Boise Cascade either knew, or was willfully blind to, the origin of the material. The fine—set at $6,382,000—represents twice the gross profits derived from the transactions. The company ...