Luxury Yacht Companies Plead Guilty to Violating Lacey Act for Using Illegally Obtained Burmese Teak on Multimillion Dollar Yachts; Agree to Pay $200,000 Fine

Sunseeker International Limited and Sunseeker USA Sales Co. Inc. (Sunseeker) pleaded guilty this week to two violations of the Lacey Act for using illegally obtained Burmese Teak on yachts that it imported into the United States. Sunseeker agreed to pay a fine of $200,000, and to implement a compliance plan, among other penalties. Sunseeker manufactures luxury performance motor yachts and superyachts.

"Congress amended the Lacey Act in 2008 to prohibit the importation of illegally harvested timber," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). "By enforcing the law, we ensure a level playing field for companies that follow the law. Timber trafficking is the third most lucrative form of transnational crime, so enforcing the law keeps money from flowing into criminal enterprises."

"South Florida is one of the world's great gateways for luxury vessels, but our ports are not open to illegal goods," said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "Sunseeker admitted that illegally obtained Burmese teak was used on yachts imported into the United States. That matters. Trafficking in illegal timber, wildlife, and other protected natural resources harms legitimate businesses, supports corrupt supply chains, and turns the natural world into profit for criminal organizations. This guilty plea, fine, and compliance requirements are a direct step toward accountability."

"Timber trafficking is a transnational crime that damages forests and puts legitimate businesses at a disadvantage," said Assistant Director Doug Ault, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement. "We are actively disrupting illegal timber supply chains and holding violators accountable under the Lacey Act. This case is part of our ongoing work to protect natural resources and ensure American markets aren't a destination for illegal goods."

Sunseeker manufactures its vessels in the United Kingdom (U.K.) and sells them internationally, including in the United States. Sunseeker pleaded guilty to using Burmese Teak on their yachts, specifically, a Teak balcony door intended to be incorporated into a yacht, and Teak parts incorporated into two yachts priced at approximately $2.98 million and $1.07 million, respectively.

The illegal logging of Teak in Myanmar has been a known problem since at least 2017. Both the U.S. and the U.K. have imposed sanctions against Myanmar and the U.S. has sanctioned the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE), the sole authorized seller of export Teak harvested in Myanmar. U.S. sanctions prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or those transiting the U.S. that involve any property or interest in property associated with the MTE. The U.K. has concluded that timber harvesting, specifically Teak, has financially supported dictatorships in Myanmar.

Sunseeker was previously charged in the U.K. and pleaded guilty in 2023 to three criminal violations of the U.K.'s Timber and Timber Products Regulations (UKTR). The company was sentenced and fined approximately $450,000. The Teak imports that Sunseeker imported into the U.S. came from the illegal Teak imports charged in the U.K. case.

Sunseeker is set to be sentenced on Aug. 20.

Last month, ENRD hosted a TIMBER Working Group roundtable where ENRD PDAAG Gustafson outlined ENRD's commitment to enforcing timber trafficking laws. It is estimated that the U.S. forest products industry loses $500 million annually to trafficking through depressed wood prices and lost export opportunities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Emily R. Stone of ENRD's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosenfeld for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

ENRD is a member of the Department of Justice's Trade Fraud Task Force, a cross-agency law enforcement effort that also involves the Criminal and Civil Divisions' Fraud Sections, ENRD, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Attorney's Offices nationwide. The Task Force was created to leverage all of the Department's tools and authorities to prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force is designed to pursue enforcement actions against parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Criminal Division's Corporate Whistleblower Program at [email protected] using the form available here.