The US Department of Justice announced today (6 August) that the Gibson Guitar Corporation has entered into an agreement to resolve the investigation into whether the company used illegally harvested wood and ebony, thereby violating the Lacey Act.
Under the agreement, Gibson will pay a $300,000 penalty, plus a $50,000 donation to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to help promote conservation of protected trees.
In addition, according to a press release issued by the Department of Justice, “Gibson will also implement a compliance program designed to strengthen its compliance controls and procedures. In related civil forfeiture actions, Gibson will withdraw its claims to the wood seized in the course of the criminal investigation, including Madagascar ebony from shipments with a total invoice value of $261,844. [read]
