U.S. Customs and Border Protection is seeking assurances from a judge that Rupari Food Services Inc.’s bankruptcy won’t shield the company from a $2.8 million penalty tied to its alleged illegal importation of Chinese crawfish meat, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. In court papers filed on Thursday, acting U.S. Attorney David Weiss said Rupari, a one-time barbecue ribs specialist that has since liquidated most of its assets in chapter 11, should have to face a trial over the incident, which took place more than 15 years ago. According to prosecutors, between 1997 and 1998, Rupari imported frozen crawfish meat from Thailand that it knew had originated in China, avoiding a 201.63 percent tariff but committing a fraud in the process. In 2011, U.S. Customs and Border Protection filed a lawsuit against Rupari with the U.S. Court of International Trade, seeking to enforce a fine now pegged at $2.8 million.
