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Violation Tracker Individual Record

Company: Gibson Guitar Corp.
Current Parent Company: Gibson Brands
Penalty: $350,000
Year: 2012
Date: August 6, 2012
Offense Group: environment-related offenses
Primary Offense: environmental violation
Violation Description: Gibson Guitar Corp. entered into a criminal enforcement agreement with the United States resolving a criminal investigation into allegations that the company violated the Lacey Act by illegally purchasing and importing ebony wood from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India. The criminal enforcement agreement defers prosecution for criminal violations of the Lacey Act and requires Gibson to pay a penalty amount of $300,000. The agreement further provides for 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 also implement a compliance program designed to strengthen its compliance controls and procedures.
Level of Government: federal
Action Type: agency action
Agency: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service referral to the Justice Department
Civil or Criminal Case: criminal
Prosecution Agreement: deferred prosecution agreement
HQ Country of Current Parent: USA
HQ State of Current Parent: Tennessee
Ownership Structure of Current Parent: privately held
Major Industry of Current Parent: miscellaneous manufacturing
Specific Industry of Current Parent: musical instruments
Source of Data: (click here)
Source Notes: If an online information source is not working, check the Violation Tracker Data Sources page for an updated link.
Current parent company note: Parent-subsidiary relationship is current as of the most recent revision listed in the Update Log.