82.7 F
Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesFormer GEM Exec Sentenced to Pay $1.1 Million for Black Coral Trafficking

Former GEM Exec Sentenced to Pay $1.1 Million for Black Coral Trafficking

Former GEM Manufacturing executive Ashu Bhandari was sentenced to one month in federal prison and ordered to pay more than a million dollars in fines Thursday for his role in an illegal black coral trade scheme that resulted in two other arrests and cost his company millions of dollars in penalties.

Bhandari and his legal team appeared in federal District Court on St. Thomas on Thursday to finish out the final phase of a plea deal that Bhandari accepted in November 2012. According to the details of the agreement, the former GEM Manufacturing president and chief executive officer helped to illegally traffic in internationally protected black coral into the territory by falsely labeling his shipments as "plastic" in order to get the them past Customs officials in the U.S. and Hong Kong.

According to a federal news release issued Thursday, Bhandari admitted that, by 2009, "he knew that the shipments he arranged on behalf of GEM were coming into St. Thomas falsely labeled."

Bhandari was the last to be sentenced in the scheme. Appearing before District Court Judge Curtis Gomez on Thursday, Bhandari asked for leniency and fought back tears while saying that he took full responsibility for his actions.

He said that he had "shamed" his family, friends and daughter, tarnished his reputation and is now considered a "criminal" throughout the community. But he promised not to repeat his mistakes and assured the judge that his actions are "not a reflection" of his character.

Bhandari’s knees buckled and his lawyers had to step in and offer support after Gomez sentenced him to one month in prison, with one month home confinement followed by a year of supervised release. Calculating that Bhandari had made over $1 million by helping to traffic the black coral, Gomez also ordered Bhandari to pay a $918,950 fine, along with another $229,687 to the University of the Virgin Islands to be used for community service projects designed to research and protect black corals.

Bhandari also has to complete 300 hours of community service and cannot work for any business involving coral or coral products.

According to a federal news release, black corals are considered an important deep sea marine habitat and protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

“The effective stewardship of our natural resources by vigorously enforcing environmental laws is a priority of the Department of Justice,” U.S. Attorney Ronald W. Sharpe said in the release. “This prosecution, like many cases involving the investigation and prosecution of those who set out to exploit our precious natural resources, was complex, time consuming and required the expertise of multiple law enforcement agencies.”

Bhandari’s arrest came as a result of a three-year investigation led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Justice Department’s Environmental and Natural Resources Division, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In a related case, GEM Manufacturing was sentenced to more than $4.47 million in financial penalties and forfeitures, along with three and a half years of probation. The company was also banned from doing business with its former coral supplier, Peng Chia Enterprise Co. Ltd, along with managers Gloria and Ivan Chu, who were arrested in 2010 by federal agents conducting a sting operation in Las Vegas.

According to the release, the Chus were indicted in 2010 for illegally providing GEM with black coral. Ivan Chu was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay a $12,500 fine, while Gloria Chu was sentenced to 20 months in prison and a $12,500 fine.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Keeping our community informed is our top priority.
If you have a news tip to share, please call or text us at 340-228-8784.

Support local + independent journalism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

Unlike many news organizations, we haven't put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as accessible as we can. Our independent journalism costs time, money and hard work to keep you informed, but we do it because we believe that it matters. We know that informed communities are empowered ones. If you appreciate our reporting and want to help make our future more secure, please consider donating.