October 10, 2024 — The USDA Agricultural Market Service’s Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act Division (PACA) has received information that various entities and individuals may be falsely representing themselves as current PACA licensees and legitimate purchasers in the industry – ordering produce, arranging its pick-up and transport, and not paying for that produce.
In these instances, once the product is ordered, the fraudulent purchaser arranges its transport but never pays for it. When the shipper invoices the company to whom they believe they sold the produce, that company informs the seller that they did not purchase or receive the product.
Only then, when the shipper begins attempting to verify email addresses, phone numbers, names, and titles, does the seller realize that they were deceived and the produce was not legitimately purchased. The fraudulent purchaser is typically using actual names of companies in the industry when arranging these transactions.
To avoid falling victim to this type of fraud, shippers should confirm the integrity of the supply chain from pick-up through delivery. Shippers are advised to confirm produce buyers’ information, including delivery destination, names of company personnel, phone numbers, and email addresses to the information reported on the PACA website and in other industry third-party sources.
For questions regarding a shipper’s rights and responsibilities under the PACA, please visit https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/paca or call 1-800-495-7222.
