GIPSA - Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards A : Southern Colorado Livestock Auction, Inc. and John R. Malouff, Jr. Have Been Assessed a $1,000 Civil Penalty (PDF; 20Kb)

GIPSA Press Release

United States Department of Agriculture

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration

STOP 3601

1400 Independence Ave., SW Washington, D.C.

20250-3601

GIPSA Release 01-13 Catherine M. Grasso 202-720-7201
[e-mail]

Southern Colorado Livestock Auction, Inc. and John R. Malouff, Jr. Have Been Assessed a $1,000 Civil Penalty

WASHINGTON, Jan. 14, 2013 - On December 14, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration entered into a consent decision with Southern Colorado Livestock Auction, Inc. (Southern Colorado), and John R. Malouff, Jr. (Malouff), Monte Vista, Colo.
Southern Colorado and Malouff have been ordered to cease and desist from:
• failing to properly maintain their custodial account for shippers' proceeds;
• issuing checks in payment for livestock without having and maintaining sufficient funds on deposit and available in the accounts upon which they are drawn to pay these checks when presented;
• failing to maintain and operate scales to ensure accurate weights;
• failing to have their scales used for the purchase, sale, acquisition, payment, or settlement of livestock or live poultry tested by competent persons at least twice during each calendar year; and
• failing to retain a copy of each report of tests and inspections of their scales used for the purchase, sale, acquisition, payment, or settlement of livestock or live poultry and failing to submit a copy of each such report to the Packers and Stockyards Program's Western Regional Office.
They have also been assessed a civil penalty in the amount of $1,000 and are suspended for two weeks and thereafter until shortages are corrected.
The Packers and Stockyards Act is a fair trade practice and payment protection law that promotes fair and competitive marketing environments for the livestock, meat, and poultry industries.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Office of Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410
or call [phone] (Toll-free Customer Service), [phone] (Local or Federal relay), [phone] (Relay voice users).