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A 50-year-old Chinese national was indicted Thursday on a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for allegedly stealing millions from the grass and seed company he worked for and hiding the money by investing in six Hawaii island real estate projects.
Yao Zhungjun, 50, of Beijing, remains at large.
The former project manager at J.R. Simplot Co., a Chinese company that acquired the Jacklin Seed Co., a producer and marketer of grass seed and turf grass based in Liberty Lake, Wash., solicited grass seed orders at artificially inflated prices from Chinese customers and then negotiated kickback payments from those customers in exchange for rebate payments from Simplot, according to court documents and a news release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii.
Christopher Claypool, Jacklin’s general manager, approved the rebates, and Zhungjun collected millions of dollars in kickbacks from $10 million in rebates paid to one distributor, Beijing Oasis.
Zhungjun and Claypool conspired to defraud Simplot directly when Claypool arranged for seller commissions purportedly owed to a European partner to be paid to Zhungjun through a Citibank Hong Kong account allegedly controlled by Zhungjun’s wife, according to Judith A. Philips, acting U.S. Attorney.
Claypool directed more than $7.3 million in fraudulent commissions to her account from 2008 through 2014.
Between March 2010 and June 2016, Zhungjun allegedly used 55 wire transfers totaling more than $11.6 million to acquire and develop six parcels under Claypool’s control. From 2010 through October 2018, Claypool developed
and then sold those properties for more than $11.4 million.
Claypool was separately charged and pleaded guilty to this conspiracy in the District of Oregon.