Virginia-based Lumber Liquidators, one of largest flooring retailers in the country, has agreed to pay a $33 million penalty for misleading investors about formaldehyde-laced laminate flooring from China. Under the deferred prosecution, the Justice Department will dismiss a charge of securities fraud in three years if Lumber Liquidators meets its obligations. Some of the flooring emitted more formaldehyde, “60 Minutes” reported, than the labs they used had ever seen. According to the court records, in 2011 Lumber Liquidators began directly buying laminate flooring in China, helping increase profits. But Lumber Liquidators kept using the same suppliers and solicited from them denials of any wrongdoing, according to court documents.

Source: Washington Post March 12, 2019 16:07 UTC