Trade Fraud Task Force Surpasses $1 Billion in Recoveries and Charged Losses in Less Than One Year

Enforcement Milestone Marks Strategic Pivot from Administrative Fines to Criminal and Civil Accountability Across the Global Supply Chain 

The Department of Justice announced today that the Trade Fraud Task Force (TFTF), launched in August 2025, with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and publicly charged losses in less than one year This milestone reflects a fundamental shift in the federal government’s approach to customs and trade enforcement, emphasizing rigorous criminal prosecution and civil enforcement under the False Claims Act (FCA).

“For too long, fraud actors have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing business,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “By utilizing the Department’s full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime. This billion-dollar milestone demonstrates that the United States and the National Fraud Enforcement Division will no longer allow the integrity of our country’s borders and markets to be compromised for illicit profit. This message should be heard loud and clear by all supply-chain actors.”

The TFTF was established by DOJ and DHS to investigate and prosecute those who defraud the government through material misrepresentations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), including transshipment, mislabeling, and false declaration. Its mandate covers the entire supply chain, including importers, customs brokers, downstream distributors, industrial and commercial end-users, and other supply-chain actors who knowingly profit from merchandise imported contrary to law. Although the TFTF maintains broad enforcement authority,  the task force focuses on key revenue and enforcement priorities, including the evasion of Section 301 tariffs, antidumping duties (AD), and countervailing duties (CVD), the eradication of forced labor from global supply chains that seek to exploit U.S. markets, and the prosecution of criminal violations concerning imported goods that threaten public health and safety. By prioritizing clear, high-impact enforcement actions within established legal frameworks, the TFTF ensures swift accountability and a level playing field for law-abiding American businesses.

“Ensuring that the global supply chain remains a level playing field for law-abiding American businesses is a critical component of CBP’s mission,” said U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney S. Scott. “By pairing CBP’s operational reach with DOJ’s prosecutorial authority, we are dismantling the networks that seek to bypass our laws and undermine our economic security. Every day, CBP confronts criminal networks that exploit our supply chains, endanger American families with unsafe goods, threaten the integrity of our consumer and industrial markets, and undermine confidence in international commerce. Our message is clear: those who seek to exploit America’s trade system will be identified, investigated, and brought to justice.”

“Through the Trade Fraud Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations is actively protecting American families and businesses from the dangers and consequences of illegal trade practices,” said Homeland Security Investigations Acting Executive Associate Director John A. Condon. “HSI combines investigative expertise and global partnerships to confront criminal networks that threaten fair trade and the security of our nation’s economic interests. By holding offenders accountable, we build trust in the products people rely on every day and support a fair marketplace for honest businesses.”

U.S. ATTORNEY’S OFFICE ANNOUNCES CHARGES IN TWO SIGNIFICANT CHICAGO TRADE FRAUD CASES

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois (NDIL) today announced charges against multiple defendants in significant customs duty evasion schemes involving the false declaration of countries of origin for gold jewelry. The Trade Fraud Task Force (TFTF) has selected NDIL as its lead prosecutorial partner. These Chicago cases contributed to the TFTF surpassing the $1 billion milestone in enforced trade fraud matters.

Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli, who operate Surya International, Inc., a gold jewelry importer and wholesaler in South San Francisco, California, were charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago with falsely declaring that the gold jewelry they imported into the United States had originated in Singapore and not its true country of origin—India and United Arab Emirates. The charges allege that from approximately August 2020 through May 2024, the company, together with foreign manufacturers and other United States entities, imported and brought into the United States approximately 563 separate entries of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Singapore and in doing so avoided paying customs duties of between 5.5% and 5.8% of the declared value of the imported gold jewelry. The gold jewelry had an estimated total value of more than approximately $693 million, thus causing the avoidance of more than approximately $38 million in United States customs duties.

Separately, Narain Gulabani who owned and operated Barkha Wholesale, Inc., a gold jewelry importer and wholesaler in Naperville, Illinois, was charged in U.S. District Court in Chicago with falsely declaring the country of origin for imported gold jewelry. The charges allege that, from approximately May 2016 and October 2021, Gulabani, together with foreign manufacturers and other United States entities, imported or caused to be imported into the United States approximately 242 separate entries of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Oman or Singapore and in doing so avoided paying customs duties of between 5.5% and 5.8% of the declared value of the imported gold jewelry. The gold jewelry had an estimated total value of more than approximately $240 million, thus causing the avoidance of more than approximately $13.6 million in United States customs duties.

These charges are part of a broader federal effort to combat trade fraud schemes that undermine fair competition, harm domestic industries, deprive the United States of substantial revenue, and ultimately hurt the American taxpayer.

Gold jewelry and objects seized by law enforcement.

CRIMINAL AND CIVIL ENFORCEMENT

The TFTF has a nationwide mandate to investigate and prosecute trade fraud and related cases, from coast-to-coast. Any offense involving the importation of an object may be inquired of and prosecuted in any district from, through, or into which the imported object moves. Moreover, federal law criminalizes down-chain activities involving merchandise entered contrary to law when done with knowledge of the illegal entry. As a result, the port of entry is only the starting point for these actions, which may also be prosecuted in the district that feels the impact of the trade fraud.

The TFTF has secured major victories across a diverse range of industries. Recent high-impact matters include:

• Perfectus Aluminum (May 12, 2026) (CDCA): S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-led criminal investigation resulted in the collection of $549.5 million through a FCA settlement concerning massive scheme to evade antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions.
• Boise Cascade (April 27, 2026) (SDFL): HSI-led criminal investigation resulted in a $6.3 million fine and guilty plea for Lacey Act violations where the company demonstrated willful blindness toward illegally imported birch plywood.
• Ceratizit USA (December 18, 2025) (EDMI): $54 million FCA settlement to resolve allegations of knowingly failing to pay duties on tungsten carbide products imported from China.
• Royal Sovereign (April 28, 2026) (DNJ): $8 million criminal fine and restitution ordered after failure to report to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission dangerously defective imported air conditioners allegedly linked to more than 40 fires and one death.
• MGI International (December 12, 2025) (DNH): HSI-led criminal investigation leading to resolutions against a global plastic resin distributor and its former executive concerning misrepresentations of the goods’ country of origin to avoid paying Section 301 duties.

CBP ENFORCEMENT

In addition to the civil and criminal enforcement efforts that led to this historic milestone, CBP continues to exercise its enforcement authorities to address trade violations. So far this Fiscal Year, CBP has assessed more than $2.1 billion in commercial trade penalties and debarred 35 parties from doing business with the federal government. These actions complement DOJ’s enforcement mechanisms and strengthen CBP’s mission to protect our national and economic security by preventing fraud, waste, and abuse.

THE TRADE FRAUD RESOURCE GUIDE

The DOJ and the DHS today released A Resource Guide to Trade Fraud Enforcement (the Guide). As the first joint comprehensive framework of its kind, the Guide is a historic and seminal roadmap for cross-border compliance and enforcement priorities. The Guide provides critical information to enterprises of all sizes and addresses a wide variety of topics, including who and what is covered by customs regulations and anti-trade fraud laws and the different types of civil and criminal resolutions available in trade fraud enforcement. On these and other topics, the Guide takes a multi-faceted approach toward setting forth the statutory and regulatory requirements and providing insights into the enforcement practices of the DOJ and DHS.

Since January 2025, the Department has brought trade fraud enforcement actions all over the country as shown in the map below:

“When companies commit trade fraud, the prosperity and safety of American workers, families, and communities are put at risk,” said the DHS Assistant Secretary for Trade and Economic Security, Aris Kourkoumelis. “To level the playing field and protect the American people, DOJ and DHS have forged the Trade Fraud Task Force and have produced this Resource Guide which provides the private sector with a transparent, comprehensive manual on trade fraud enforcement.”

GLOBAL TRADE & COMMERCE ENFORCEMENT SECTION

The Department is announcing the creation of the Global Trade & Commerce Enforcement Section (GTCES) within the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The GTCES’s mission is to investigate and prosecute criminal import, trade, and other fraud offenses that undermine American industries, evade external revenue collection, threaten consumers’ health and safety, finance foreign adversaries, promote forced labor through illegal trade practices, and violate United States laws and regulations governing domestic and foreign commerce.

A FOUNDATION OF PARTNERSHIP

The success of the GTCES and TFTF is built upon unprecedented cooperation between Main Justice, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, and law enforcement partners.

“It has been a tremendous honor to work closely with the Department and its leadership to envision what the Trade Fraud Task Force could be, and then to convert concept into reality,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros of the Northern District of Illinois. “Helping stand up the Task Force from the ground up has been a vision of mine for nearly 20 years, dating back to when I was a federal prosecutor in Chicago bringing what has still stood as the largest criminal trade fraud cases of their kind and doing so against a stacked deck. It is deeply satisfying to know that we were decades ahead of our time and that our strategy from years ago has now been adopted at the highest levels of the Department and is being implemented across the whole of government. It is a great privilege and responsibility for the Northern District of Illinois to be selected as lead prosecutorial partner for the Trade Fraud Task Force. With our expansive venue and my decades of experience in this space, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office intends to be the tip of the spear when it comes to robust and vigorous enforcement of our nation’s trade, forced labor, and other related laws. There should be no doubt, the key roads for trade fraud enforcement lead from, to, and through Chicago past, present, and future.”

The Department extends its gratitude to the 35 TFTF masthead U.S. Attorneys’ Offices: District of Arizona, Eastern District of Arkansas, Northern District of California, Central District of California, Eastern District of California, Southern District of California, District of Colorado, District of Columbia, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, Central District of Illinois, Northern District of Illinois, Southern District of Illinois, Northern District of Indiana, Southern District of Indiana, District of Maryland, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Western District of Missouri, District of Nebraska, District of New Jersey, District of New Mexico, Eastern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Middle District of North Carolina, District of Oregon, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, District of Puerto Rico, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Eastern District of Virigina, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Wisconsin.

The Task Force also acknowledges the indispensable contributions of its law enforcement and agency partners, including CBP, HSI, IRS Criminal Investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and the Food and Drug Administration.

The Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy provides concrete benefits to incentivize companies to voluntarily disclose discovered misconduct, cooperate with our investigations, and timely and appropriately remediate the wrongdoing.

The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud, including utilizing the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act or through the Department’s Corporate Whistleblower Program at CorporateWhistleblower@usdoj.gov using the form available here.

Attorney General James Delivers $250,000 to Improve Lead Safety Training for Construction Workers

 

Funding Secured from Lead Paint Enforcement Actions Will Provide Free Lead Safety Certification and Know-Your-Rights Trainings for Over 700 Workers in NYC

New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will provide $250,000 to create a new program to train and certify approximately 720 construction workers in lead-safe work practices in New York City. The training program will be funded by Attorney General James’ 2021 settlements with A&E Real Estate Holdings (A&E) and Chestnut Holdings of New York, Inc. (Chestnut Holdings) over numerous violations of New York City’s lead paint laws on their properties. Administered by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), the new training program will provide day laborers and other low-wage workers involved in residential renovation, repair, and painting activities with the knowledge, skills, and certifications needed to protect themselves and their families from lead-related hazards they may encounter at work. Today’s funding more than doubles the safety training NYCOSH provides to construction day laborers each year, giving hundreds of workers the opportunity to expand their employment eligibility while safeguarding their health and the health of those around them. 

“All too often, day laborers and other low-wage construction workers are the workers most exposed to hazardous and avoidable lead paint conditions on the job,” said Attorney General James. “This new lead safety training program invests directly into these workers, helping them protect themselves and their families from the dangers of lead. I am proud to support the health and safety of our construction workers and help ensure a lead-free future for all New Yorkers.”  

“We're deeply grateful to Attorney General James for entrusting NYCOSH with this critical investment in low-wage construction workers' lives,” said NYCOSH Executive Director Charlene Obernauer. “Lead-safe training isn't just regulatory compliance, it's the difference between a worker going home healthy to their family and keeping their family safe from the dust on their parent's clothes. This training program will help keep workers safe and healthy and we are proud to be in partnership."

Under federal and New York City law, renovation, repair, or painting activities that disturb lead paint in buildings built before 1978 must be performed by workers who have received official training and certification in lead-safe practices. Workers enrolled in the free NYCOSH lead-safety training program will receive this required training and certification, as well as Know Your Rights training, further educational materials on the risks of lead, and testing kits to identify lead contamination in their homes. The new NYCOSH lead-safety training project will train low-wage construction workers across New York City and will be offered in both English and Spanish. Several studies indicate that low-wage day laborers are disproportionately not trained in lead-safe work practices. As a result, they often lack the necessary information and skills to protect themselves and their families from lead brought home from job sites. Studies also indicate children of lead-exposed construction workers are six times more likely to have toxic blood lead levels than children whose parents do not work in lead-related industries.

Lead paint remains pervasive across New York City’s housing stock, as 80 percent of New York City housing was built before New York banned lead-based paint in 1978. In addition to protecting workers and their families, lead-safe training and certification can increase workers’ employability and wages for a wide range of construction projects. Approximately eight in 10 residential renovation projects in New York City involve renovation, repair, or painting activities requiring training and certification in lead-safe practices. Prevailing wage and union contractors also strongly prefer and often require lead-safe certifications for hiring.

Attorney General James is providing $250,000 to fund this lead-safe training program for two years using funds from OAG’s 2021 settlement with two New York City real estate management companies, Chestnut Holdings and A&E Real Estate, after investigations found numerous violations of New York City’s lead paint law at their properties across the city. The NYCOSH lead-safe training project is the final project funded through the combined $810,000 secured from those settlements. The OAG has also allocated funds to a New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) small landlord lead education program and a tenants’ rights capacity-building project.

Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Kamar Samuels Launch Major Expansion of Pre-K Special Education

 

$67.5 million investment brings nationally recognized special education programs to 14 school districts across every borough beginning this fall  

Today, Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS) Chancellor Kamar Samuels announced a major expansion of preschool special education, bringing the City’s nationally recognized Nest, Horizon, AIMS, Path and ACES programs to Pre-K classrooms for the first time.

Supported by a $67.5 million investment in the Fiscal Year 2027 Executive Budget, the expansion will make these specialized programs available in 14 school districts across all five boroughs beginning this fall, giving young children with disabilities access to high-quality instruction in their own communities.

“Children with disabilities should not be forced to travel across the city just to get the education they deserve,” said Mayor Mamdani. “That’s why we’re bringing those classrooms closer to home and taking another critical step toward making Pre-K truly universal. Every child deserves to learn and grow in their community, and every family deserves a public education system that meets them exactly where they are.”

“Every child deserves the chance to learn and grow in a classroom built around their needs, and that chance should start as early as possible,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels. “For the first time, we’re giving young children with autism and other disabilities the same high-quality, specialized instruction that has delivered real results for our older students. This investment is about strengthening the foundation and when we get early childhood education right, we set children up for a lifetime of success.”

“Early childhood education is about delivering every child a strong start in life – the kind of framework that sets children up for high academic performance throughout their lives, long-term career success and strong social emotional skills that they will carry with them forever,” said Emmy Liss, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. “This investment means more children with disabilities will receive the responsive, attentive and evidence-based education they deserve, from the very beginning of their educational journey.”

The expansion will provide young learners with high-quality, individualized instruction that strengthens academic, communication and social development in both inclusive and specialized classroom settings.

In addition to expanding classroom access, the investment strengthens the systems that help children receive services earlier and supports families throughout the special education process.

NYCPS will hire hundreds of new staff members to reduce evaluation wait times, expand bilingual assessment options and help families navigate the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. The investment includes 35 new professionals across 10 additional Preschool Regional Assessment Centers (PRACs), including psychologists, social workers, speech evaluators and occupational therapists.

Building on a successful pilot, the Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) program will also expand, placing special education teachers in general education preschool classrooms and helping more young children with IEPs learn alongside their peers. An additional 29 therapists and specialists will strengthen services for children attending community-based 3-K and Pre-K programs.

Students will be placed into new program locations across the following school districts:  

• District 2: PS 042 Benjamin Altman 
• District 5: PS 133 Fred R. Moore 
• District 6: PS 005 Ellen Lurie 
• District 7: Academy of Exploratory Arts 
• District 9: PS 028 Mount Hope, P.S. 058, P.S. 070 Max Schoenfeld, P.S. 063X Author’s Academy, and Lucero Elementary School 
• District 10: P.S. 310 Marble Hill, PS 023 The New Children’s School, Rose Hill Pre-K Center 
• District 11: P.S. 068 Bronx, P.S. 111 Seton Falls, P.S. 121 Throop 
• District 12: P.S. 006 West Farms, Samara Community School 
• District 14: P.S. 147 Isaac Remsen 
• District 15: P.S. 015 Patrick Daly, P.S. 024, P.S. 958 
• District 20: D20 Pre-K Center 
• District 21: P.S. 212 Lady Deborah Moody 
• District 30: P.S. 152 Gwendoline N. Alleyne School, P.S. 171 Peter G. Van Alst 
• District 31: P.S. 054 Charles W. Leng 

“A strong educational start sets up all our kids for a bright future and these investments ensure that for our pre-k students with disabilities,” said NYC Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities’ Commissioner Nisha Agarwal. “Under this administration, we’re working everyday to see that every child and family has what they need to thrive in education and beyond. Thank you to our partners at NYC Public Schools and the teams across the city that will help this investment come to life.”

Essex County, New Jersey Sanctuary Politicians Enact New Law Refusing to Notify ICE Law Enforcement Before Releasing Criminal Illegal Aliens from Jail

 

These policies will make New Jersey less safe by releasing criminals to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims

The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the following statement after Essex County, New Jersey sanctuary politicians passed a resolution declaring that the county will no longer honor U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detainers for illegal aliens in their jails and will instead release criminals back into New Jersey communities.

The Essex County Board of County Commissioners passed a resolution restricting the use of county property and resources to assist with civil immigration enforcement activities. These sanctuary policies were officially implemented on July 9.

Going forward, these changes will negatively impact ICE’s ability to conduct direct custody transfers from Essex County Jail, and will require additional operational resources to locate and arrest criminal illegal aliens. ICE law enforcement will have to increase their reliance on field enforcement actions and additional resources in order to protect American citizens in Essex County from public safety threats.

“Sanctuary policies like this make New Jersey communities less safe,” said Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis. “In Essex County, instead of notifying ICE law enforcement, sanctuary politicians will RELEASE criminals from jails into New Jersey communities. When sanctuary politicians refuse to cooperate with ICE law enforcement, they put the safety of the public and our officers at risk. It also requires us to have a larger presence to arrest criminals at large instead of in the controlled setting of a jail.”

Below are some examples of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens arrested by ICE in Essex County:

Carlos Humberto Perez-Soza, a criminal illegal alien from Honduras, convicted for sex assault – force / coercion.

Nazarjon Gayratjonovich Abdukahorov, a criminal illegal alien from Uzbekistan, convicted for lure/entice child by various means. Abdukahorov is a registered sex offender.

Carlos Capurro, a criminal illegal alien from Peru, convicted for aggravated sexual assault of a child less than 13-years-old and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

Johanns Cuadros-Almanza, a criminal illegal alien from Peru and registered sex offender, convicted for aggravated criminal sexual contact.

New Jersey Man Arrested for Local Fentanyl Overdose

 

A Houston man has pleaded guilty to federal drug trafficking violations following a Homeland Security Task Force investigation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Special Agent in Charge of the Houston Division Brian C. Leardo and U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Indolfo Hernandez, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zack Hawthorn on July 10, 2026. 

According to information presented in court, in January 2024, law enforcement began investigating a drug trafficking organization that was distributing large amounts of methamphetamine throughout Texas and neighboring regions. The organization, based in Houston and operating within the Eastern District of Texas, was led by Hernandez. During the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 16 kilograms of methamphetamine that had been distributed by Hernandez and his coconspirators. 

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.  HSTF Houston comprises agents and officers from the FBI; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations - Houston (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI); and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas; DEA Beaumont HIDTA Task Force Group D23; Houston Police Department; Liberty County Sheriff’s Office; and Harris County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan C. Lee.

Hernandez faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The actual sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

GrowNYC - Ways to Celebrate 50 Years of Greenmarket

 

In the summer of 1976, Greenmarket co-founders Barry Benepe and Bob Lewis saw three simultaneous crises facing New York City:

• Lack of public community spaces in the city.

• Abysmal quality of produce at the grocery store.

• The accelerating disappearance of regional farmland.

They dreamed up a simple idea: Let’s bring back the farmers market to New York City!

Urban farmers markets were unheard of at the time, but 50 years ago this week, Barry and Bob were preparing to open the very first Greenmarket on 59th Street and Second Avenue. Unbeknownst the them their actions would forever alter how New Yorkers eat, cook, and shop for local produce.

Why it matters: Today GrowNYC operates 45 Greenmarkets across the city—the largest year-round farmers market network in the U.S.—and the urban farmers’ market phenomenon has taken the country by storm as eaters nationwide have rediscovered the extraordinary flavors of food grown nearby by small farmers and producers.

Keep reading to learn more about the history and ways you can join the celebrations! 

5 Ways to Celebrate 50 years of Greenmarket 

Pictured: Opening Day at 59th Street and 2nd Avenue, July 17, 1976

 Explore Our History

Pictured: Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket in the 80s

If you’re feeling extra nostalgic this month, we invite you to dive into the past and through our archives and recent wins:

• Hear the origin story directly from Greenmarket co-founder Bob Lewis in a 6-minute, April 2025 WNYC interview.

•  Read The Rebirth of Farmers Markets in New York City a self-published from 1978.

•  Watch this 4-minute historical video GrowNYC co-created with the late Barry Benepe in 2024.

•  Read recent press coverage on Greenmarkets 50th anniversary in Edible Manhattan and Grub Street.

 Buy Your In Season Tickets

The anniversary year culminates with In Season on September 17, 2026 at The Glasshouse overlooking Bryant Park.

• Don't miss out on an evening of celebration, community support, and philanthropy!

• Buy your individual or group tickets and get ready for a night filled with farm-fresh delights, seasonal drinks, and so much more.

• Limited time offer! We're releasing a limited number of discounted Gala tickets for guests under 35.

Buy In Season Tickets

What's next: We're curating a collection of experiences to auction that capture everything we're celebrating—food, farmers, sustainability, and New York City. You can bid even if you can’t make it to the gala. Online bidding opens soon, with more auction items to come!

Preview Auction Items

Share Your Greenmarket Story

Share your favorite market moments, unforgettable experiences, or expound on how the market has impacted you over the years. Your stories will help us honor this incredible community and the people who’ve made it so special.

How to submit your story: Stories told via voice memo, archival photography, seasonal food and farm-inspired poetry, letters, essays, and other collected Greenmarket ephemera are all welcome.

Share My Greenmarket Story

Visit Your Favorite Greenmarket

And the last but most important, make time to visit your favorite market and share it with us!

• Wish us a happy birthday on social media this week by sharing your market moments, memories, meals, or favorite farmers.

Don’t forget to tag @grownycgreenmarket @grownyc for a chance to be featured on our pages.

Thank you for helping GrowNYC keep farmers farming! 

Hope House Completes Construction at 849 Crotona Park North In Crotona, The Bronx

 

Construction is complete on Hope House on Crotona Park, a six-story residential facility at 849 Crotona Park North in Crotona, The Bronx. Designed by EQ Architecture and Design and developed by the Greenburger Center for Social and Criminal Justice, the 12,000-square-foot structure contains 16 beds across eight double-occupancy rooms for adults living with serious mental illness who have been charged with felony-level crimes. The $13 million project operates as a residential Alternative to Incarceration, or ATI, offering a voluntary, court-referred program with an expected length of stay of one to two years.

The facility is reserved for eight men and eight women, with two residents sharing each room, and is staffed around the clock by residential and security personnel, with on-site clinical care. The Greenburger Center describes it as the first residential ATI model of its kind in the nation, distinguished by its use of bond-agency security authority in a voluntary program and its co-located treatment and housing. Residents can receive integrated behavioral health treatment, substance use services, peer support, vocational programming, and life-skills development within a trauma-informed setting organized around a “work-ordered day” model.

Clinical services are provided by Athena Psych, whose clinicians deliver evidence-based care on site. Financing for the $13 million development was assembled from a $5.6 million construction grant from New York State, proceeds from the federal New Markets Tax Credit program, private donations, and allocations from members of the City Council and State Legislature.

Clients enter Hope House from jail after voluntarily accepting a plea agreement in court, with the support of defense counsel, the prosecutor, and the presiding judge. In essence, the model diverts people whose untreated mental illness contributed to their charges into supervised treatment rather than a jail or prison term.

A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held this month to mark the opening, drawing state and city officials.

Bangladeshi National Extradited from Brazil to Face Charges for Role in Transnational Criminal Human Smuggling Organization

 

Bangladeshi national Saifullah Al-Mamun, 39, made his initial appearance in Laredo, Texas, after being extradited from Brazil on July 8. A second superseding indictment charges Al-Mamun for his role in a conspiracy that smuggled aliens from Bangladesh into the United States. 

According to court documents, Al-Mamun and his co-defendants — Mohamad Milon Hossain, 46 and Moktar Hossain, 38, both of Bangladesh — participated in a wide-ranging human smuggling operation and assisted other smugglers by facilitating the travel of scores of aliens from São Paulo, Brazil, and other locations in South America, Central America, and Mexico so that the aliens could illegally enter the United States. Al-Mamun housed aliens in São Paulo and arranged their travel, Mohamad Milon Hossain housed aliens in Tapachula, Mexico, and facilitated their transportation to Monterrey, Mexico. Moktar Hossain housed aliens in Monterrey and instructed them how to cross the Rio Grande River into the United States. Many of the aliens had difficulty safely crossing the Rio Grande River. The aliens paid as much as tens of thousands of dollars to individuals in Bangladesh to help them travel illegally to the United States. Al-Mamun was arrested in Brazil on Oct. 31, 2019.

Mohamad Milon Hossain pleaded guilty to his role in the operation and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Moktar Hossain also pleaded guilty to his role in the operation and was also sentenced to 46 months in prison.

Al-Mamun is charged with conspiracy to bring an alien to the United States, multiple counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, and conspiracy to encourage and induce an alien to enter the United States. If convicted on all counts of bringing an alien to the United States for financial gain, he faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. If convicted of conspiracy to bring and/or conspiracy to encourage and induce and alien to enter the United States, he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz for the Southern District of Texas; and Special Agent in Charge Jason T. Stevens of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Phoenix made the announcement.

HSI Phoenix is investigating this case with assistance from the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., U.S. Customs and Border and Protection’s International Interdiction Task Force, U.S. Customs and Border Protection – Counter Network Division, HSI Laredo, HSI Brasilia, HSI Bogota, , U.S. Embassy in Brazil including the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, Brazil Federal Police, Colombian National Police, and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Brazil. The Justice Department thanks its Brazilian law enforcement counterparts for their assistance in this matter.

The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated prosecutors from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and Customs and Border Protection, Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 464 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 414 U.S. convictions; and more than 360 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leslie Cortez for the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.