PANAMA CITY — The hub operator for an illegal export scheme that ran through Panama City Beach was sentenced Wednesday to four months house arrest for violating international trade laws.
John C. Wall, 57, was one of three men facing federal conspiracy charges for various roles in a Panama City Beach-based company called Freedom Marketing Inc. Wall was president of the business when it bought auto parts from a Chinese manufacturer, relabeled them as “Made in the USA” and then sold them to unwitting buyers in Central and South America.
During his sentence hearing Wednesday, Wall professed his regret and U.S. attorneys agreed his sentence, as a local businessman, should be less than his Latin counterpart in the scheme.
“In my 57 years, I’d never been involved in anything like this,” Wall told Judge Richard Smoak before sentencing. “I’ll never do anything like this again. I apologize to my wife, my children, my grandchildren and God for what I’ve done.”
Wall’s attorney argued that since he cooperated with authorities he should receive a sentence of probation. But prosecutors did not want that to overshadow his culpability.
“Wall, as his attorney indicated, has wanted to cooperate from the beginning,” said U.S. attorney Ryan Love. “He also supplied us with multiple documents we didn’t have, but that doesn’t take away he was running this business.”
Before those arguments, Smoak seemed prepared to give Wall a similar sentence to Gilberto Lopez, 49, of New York. Lopez, who identified himself as a consultant to Freedom from 2005 to 2009, was sentenced to four months in prison in November.
“I’m mindful consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, but I think consistency is best in this case,” Smoak said.
However, Wall received a lighter sentence. Casey Patrick Lee, manager, also has been indicted on a charge of conspiracy to defraud the federal government but has yet to be sentenced.
Specific dates identified by investigators over three months indicated more than 114 unmarked or incorrectly marked crates, claiming the contents were “Processed in the USA,” left Freedom Marketing for Mexico and Venezuela in early-2007. On April 25, 2007, Lopez received an email photo from a sales representative in Mexico of boxes with “Korean Air” stickers on the outside.
False and misleading shipping labels are a violation of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), intended to promote commerce among Canada, Mexico and the USA. The treaty allows anyone who signs a NAFTA agreement tariff-free commerce among the participating nations.
Lopez and Wall had signed NAFTA certificates.
Wall and a manager made multiple trips to China to arrange purchases and shipments from a company named Qingdao Haizhiguan to Panama City Beach, instructing their employees to package the parts in different boxes and label the boxes as “Made in the USA,” according to court documents.
Wall and Lopez contacted brokers in Mexico to arrange the sell side of the business and both knew the origin of the auto parts, Lopez testified.
Wall was sentenced to four months home confinement, a fine of $10,000 and three years probation to follow. Smoak also agreed to allow him to leave his home for business purposes.