OFAC, Essie Cosmetics Agree to $450,000 Penalty for Iran Exports
Essie Cosmetics and former CEO Max Sortino of New York City agreed to settle Office of Foreign Assets Control allegations of unlicensed exports to Iran in violation of the Iranian Transactions Regulations. The allegations involved Essie and Sortino's knowing sale and export of nail care products on or about September 17, 2009, December 8, 2009, and February 23, 2010, to an Iranian distributor pursuant to an Exclusive Distributorship Agreement in apparent violation of § 560.204 of the ITR.
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OFAC said Essie and Sortino didn't voluntarily self-disclose the apparent violations and that the apparent violations were egregious in light of Essie and Sortino's intentional efforts to evade sanctions. The total value for the three transactions settled with OFAC was $33,299, and the base penalty was $750,000. Essie, Sortino and OFAC agreed to a settlement in the amount of $450,000. OFAC said the penalty was lower because Essie and Sortino have no history of prior OFAC violations, and they cooperated with the investigation by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement. OFAC said $200,000 of its total settlement was satisfied by Essie and Sortino's agreement with the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York and by the $200,000 administrative forfeiture by the Department of Homeland Security.