Contact

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-212-350-2774

Archive

Page 1 of 7

April 19, 2023

Manufacturer Seagate Technology LLC will pay a $300 million penalty to resolve allegations that it violated U.S. export control standards.  As part of the settlement, Seagate admitted that it unlawfully sold millions of hard disk drives, valued at more than $1 billion, to Huawei Technologies in 2020 and 2021, after Huawei became a listed entity, requiring sales to it by U.S. companies to be made by export license, based on a U.S. determination that Huawei was  involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.  Seagate also agreed to ongoing audits by the government.  BIS DOC

Tagged in: Trade Agreements,

February 7, 2023

Samsung C&T America, Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of the Korean conglomerate Samsung C&T Corporation, has agreed to pay $1 million after admitting that it deliberately misclassified and underpaid customs duties on imported footwear by inaccurately stating their materials and construction.  The violations of the False Claims Act occurred between 2016 and 2018, and involved footwear imported from China and Vietnam.  USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal,

January 31, 2023

New York-based High Life LLC, which designs and imports apparel, has agreed to pay $1.3 million after admitting that it underreported the value of 67 shipments into the United States to avoid paying customs duties.  After multiple shipments were detained for possibly fraudulent declared values, High Life switched from purchasing apparel on Landed Duty Paid (LDP) to Free on Board (FOB), which allowed it to use the price its vendors paid to manufacturers as the value of the shipment, rather than what High Life paid the vendors.  However, because there were other restrictions on declaring value, High Life developed a formula to calculate what it wanted the declared value to be, then instructed vendors to use it.  USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal,

January 30, 2023

International Vitamins Corporation (IVC), which imports and sells vitamins and supplements from China, has agreed to pay $22.8 million to settle claims of defrauding the United States.  The U.S.-based company allegedly avoided U.S. customs duties by misclassifying over 30 of its products, then failed to pay back duties owed after realizing it had underpaid millions of dollars.  The alleged fraud occurred between 2015 and 2019, and only came to scrutiny through a whistleblower’s lawsuit.  USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case,

December 12, 2022

Medical device manufacturer Coloplast will pay $14.5 million to resolve claims that in its contracts with the Department of Veteran’s Affairs the company overcharged the government and submitted false claims.  Coloplast self-disclosed to the government that in violation of the Trade Agreements Act it misreported country of origin and sold products from non-designated countries, and, in violation of applicable Price Reduction Clauses, failed to provide the government with required discounts.  USAO DC

Tagged in: Drug and DME Pricing, Government Procurement Fraud, Medical Devices and DME, Pricing Fraud, Trade Agreements,

August 11, 2022

Menswear company Luchiano Visconti Loutie LLC d/b/a Luchiano Visconti and its manager Sasha Hourizadeh will pay $3.64 million for violating the False Claims Act by underreporting the value of imported apparel, resulting in over $1.8 million in evaded customs duties. Visconti and Hourizadeh regularly provided falsified invoices to customs brokers that significantly understated the true value of the imported menswear. In some instances, a complicit foreign manufacturer would provide Visconti two sets of invoices—one reflecting itemized pricing details at a reduction, and the second reflecting “services” provided which, when combined, reflected the actual value of the goods. A related whistleblower suit was filed prior to the Government joining the matter. USAO SDNY

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case,

August 11, 2022

Industrial battery maker Eos Energy Storage LLC will pay $1.02 million, after a whistleblower filed suit alleging violations of the False Claims Act. From mid-2018 to mid-2019, Eos failed to declare the value of certain components shipped overseas to be assembled and then imported back into the United States. Eos also failed to declare transportation and packing costs on more than 60 occasions, which Eos further acknowledged was their responsibility as importer of record. The whistleblower will receive 20% of the settlement amount. USAO NJ

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Whistleblower Case, Whistleblower Rewards,

April 11, 2022

Six California-based companies that conspired with a Chinese billionaire to defraud U.S. Customs and Border Protection and investors worldwide have been ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution.  A federal jury found that Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC, Scuderia Development LLC, 1001 Doubleday LLC, Von Karman – Main Street LLC, and 10681 Production Avenue LLC skirted the U.S.’s anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on certain types of extruded aluminum imported from China by disguising them as functional pallets.  USAO CDCA

Tagged in: Customs Fraud,

January 6, 2022

SoNo International LLC and Ark Capital Equipment LLC have agreed to pay $904,000 to resolve allegations of supplying the Department of Defense with shipping containers that were made in China or made of Chinese steel, in violation of contracts as well as the False Claims Act.  As part of the settlement, the two companies will also submit to enhanced training and reporting requirements pursuant to an administrative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency.  An unnamed third-party company, which SoNo and Ark hired to change identifying plates on the shipping containers, has separately agreed to train employees on customs rules and regulations.  USAO EDPA

Tagged in: Contract Non-Compliance, Defense Contract Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Trade Agreements,

1 2 3 4 … 7

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: