Major U.S. honey supplier Groeb Farms Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday after it was caught illegally buying Chinese honey through other countries to avoid antidumping tariffs imposed by U.S. trade regulators in 2001, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Executives placed the 76-worker company under chapter 11 protection saying that its $2 million settlement with regulators required it "to dispose of any and all Chinese-origin honey in its possession." Company lawyers have filed a reorganization plan that details how the company would hand over ownership to a Texas private equity firm that, in exchange, would forgive at least $27 million worth of debt.
