David L. Huber, United States Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, announced today that on February 20, 2007, MACK E. THOMAS of 1401 St. John Road, Elizabethtown, Kentucky, in Hardin County, was sentenced to pay a $10,000 fine and pay a $50.00 Special Penalty Assessment.
Thomas (1) knowingly aided and abetted the sale of wild ginseng in interstate commerce when he should have known that the plants had been purchased outside the buying season established by Kentucky law (September 1 of each year through March 31 of the following year); and (2) knowingly made and submitted false records, that is Wild Ginseng Purchase Records, and stated that protected plants were purchased within the buying season when they were not. The charges are in violation of Title 16, United States Code, Section 3372(a)(2)(B), 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(2) and 3373(d)(3)(B), the Lacey Act.
The sentenced was imposed by United States Magistrate Judge Dave Whalin in United States District Court, Louisville, Kentucky.
Thomas, a ginseng dealer, pleaded guilty to purchasing wild ginseng outside the purchase season and to making false statements on Wild Ginseng purchase records (as to the amounts purchased) submitted to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture.
