The Gibson Guitar company and the Department of Justice have reached a settlement in their legal battle after weeks of negotiation.

Gibson, which makes some of the finest guitars in the world, imported exotic wood that the government claims violated environmental laws. Under the settlement, Gibson will pay a $300,000 fine along with other penalties.

CBN News reported on the Gibson case in our special "Nation of Criminals" series.

In that story, Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz argued that the company had done its best to comply with the law. But he claimed that unelected environmental attorneys at the Justice Department still went after the company.

"We feel that Gibson was inappropriately targeted, and a matter that could have been addressed with a simple contact, a caring human being representing the government," Juszkiewicz said in a statement Monday.

Juszkiewicz explained the company settled because "the costs of proving our case at trial would have cost millions of dollars and taken a very long time to resolve. This allows us to get back to the business of making guitars." 

The government, meanwhile, called the agreement fair and just.