Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. has pleaded guilty to environmental crimes, related to the wood-flooring retailer’s illegal importation of hardwood flooring, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Much of the flooring was illegally logged in Russia, in the habitat of endangered Siberian tigers and Amur leopards, and manufactured in China. The guilty plea is not related to a “60 Minutes” report earlier this year, that alleged the company sold wood flooring from China with high-levels of a cancer-causing agent. As part of the plea deal, Lumber Liquidators will pay $13.15 million, including $7.8 million in criminal fines, nearly $1 million in criminal forfeiture, $1.23 million in community service payments and $3.15 million through a related civil forfeiture. Lumber Liquidators was charged earlier this month with one felony count and four misdemeanor violations of the Lacey Act, which makes it illegal to import timber taken in violation of a foreign country’s laws. “Lumber Liquidators’ race to profit resulted in the plundering of forests and wildlife habitat that, if continued, could spell the end of the Siberian tiger,” said Assistant Attorney General John Cruden. “Lumber Liquidators knew it had a duty to follow the law, and instead it flouted the letter and spirit of the Lacey Act, ignoring its own red flags that its products likely came from illegally harvested timber, all at the expense of law abiding competitors.” The stock was up 0.4% in afternoon trade, but pared intraday gains of as much as 5% seen prior to the DOJ’s statement. The stock has tumbled 77% year to date, while the S&P 500 has lost 0.6%.
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