USDA Extends Sanctions on The Fruit Club and Company President Matthew Kleinsasser

The United States Department of Agriculture announced continued sanctions Monday on The Fruit Club, a Sioux Falls-based direct-to-consumer fruit vendor, for failure to pay its suppliers:

The Fruit Club failed to pay $367,040 to four sellers for produce that it purchased, received and accepted in interstate commerce from June 2016 to October 2017. This is in violation of the PACA [Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act]. As a result of these actions, The Fruit Club cannot operate in the produce industry until Aug. 16, 2021, and then only after they apply for and are issued a new PACA license by USDA.

The company’s principal, Matthew Kleinsasser, may not be employed by or affiliated with any PACA licensee until Aug. 16, 2020, and then only with the posting of a USDA approved surety bond [USDA, press release, 2019.08.26].

The Fruit Club and principals Matthew and Irina Kleinsasser were found liable in January for over $100K in damages, attorney fees, and interest to Michigan wholesalers David Reenders Blueberries LLC for failing to pay for shipments of blueberries in July 2017:

The USDA sanctioned Matthew Kleinsasser and The Fruit Club for that bad deal and four seller-stiffings in 2018 and extended the sanctions last January. The USDA-PACA database lists The Fruit Club’s license as “terminated for repeated and flagrant violations.” Yet The Fruit Club appears to have found a way to keep operating. Back in March the company announced its new name, Fresh Farms, incorporated in November 2018, the result of some asset-merging with defunct produce vendor Zaycon Fresh. Irina Kleinsasser runs Fresh Farms, with Mitchell Olson handling PR.