Contact

Click here for a confidential contact or call:

1-347-417-2192

Archive

Page 1 of 3

And Yet Another Whistleblower-Originated Customs Fraud Case -- Ceratizit Pays $54.4M in Largest-Ever False Claims Act Settlement

Posted  12/23/25
Department of Justice
By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Thursday (December 18), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that North Carolina-based Ceratizit USA agreed to pay $54.4 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay duties it owed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on the products it imported from China.[1]  It is just the latest in a string of customs fraud settlements...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, False Claims Act, qui tam,

Read More

Harman International Pays $11.8M for Evading Customs Duties -- DOJ's Latest False Claims Act Customs Fraud Settlement

Posted  12/3/25
Car audio system
By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last Wednesday (November 26), the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Harman International Industries, Inc. -- a leading audio electronics company for automakers -- agreed to pay roughly $11.8 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by evading antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum goods from China.[1]  It is just the latest in a...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, False Claims Act,

Read More

DOJ Triples Down on Crusade Against Customs Fraud -- Calling All Whistleblowers

Posted  09/3/25
Department of Justice Seal Logo
By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team

DOJ Launches Cross-Agency Task Force with DHS

Last Friday (August 29), the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched what it describes as “a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States.”1 More specifically, DOJ is partnering with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, False Claims Act,

Read More

DOJ Continues Crusade Against Customs Fraud With $12.4M False Claims Act Settlement Against Allied Stone

Posted  08/27/25
Kitchen
By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team

The Latest Customs Fraud False Claims Act Case

Last Tuesday (August 19), Dallas-based countertop and cabinetry supplier Allied Stone Inc. (and its president Jia Lim) agreed to pay $12.4 million to settle Department of Justice (DOJ) charges of violating the False Claims Act by evading customs duties on quartz surface products from China.1 It is just the latest in a recent...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, False Claims Act,

Read More

DOJ Settles Two False Claims Act Customs Cases, Reinforcing That Customs Fraud Remains a Top Enforcement Priority

Posted  07/30/25
shipping
By the Constantine Cannon Whistleblower Team Last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement of two False Claims Act cases involving customs fraud.

DOJ Goes After Intentional Avoidance of Customs, Antidumping, and Countervailing Duties

On July 23, MGI International subsidiaries Global Plastics and Marco Polo International agreed to pay $6.8 million to settle DOJ charges that they failed to pay...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, False Claims Act,

Read More

Contraband, Canada, and Caught for an International Money Laundering Conspiracy: North Carolina Men Will Serve Prison Sentences

Posted  12/11/24
Currency in laundry machine
On December 4, 2024, Jeffrey Doctor (age 52, from Charlotte, North Carolina) and Samuel Baker (age 46, from Laurinburg, North Carolina) were sentenced in connection with a scheme to smuggle cut rag tobacco into Canada from the United States. Cut rag tobacco refers to tobacco plants that are chopped into thin strips and sourced to make smoking tobacco. Doctor was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Baker was sentenced to...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, Money Laundering, Tax Fraud,

Read More

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries for 2023

Posted  01/30/24
People Pointing to Contracts Making Decision
It was another big year for DOJ enforcement under the False Claims Act, the government's primary fraud-fighting tool.  As usual, most of the recoveries were in the healthcare space with seven of the Top Ten recoveries involving various schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid.  See our Top Ten FCA and Top Ten Healthcare FCA listings. While healthcare recoveries dominated the Top Ten, two of the top five...

Tagged in: Customs Fraud, Education Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Procurement Fraud, Government Programs Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10,

Read More

Catch of the Week: King Kong Tools

Posted  11/30/23
Typewriter with Made in China Letters Typed Out
This week's Department of Justice (DOJ) Catch of the Week goes to King Kong Tools GmbH & Co KG.  On  Wednesday (November 29), the German-based supplier of recycling, forestry, construction, and agricultural equipment, along with its American subsidiary, agreed to pay $1.9 million to settle DOJ charges of violating the False Claims Act through customs fraud.  More specifically, the government alleged King Kong...

Tagged in: Catch of the Week, Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Misrepresentations, Whistleblower Case,

Read More

Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries of 2020

Posted  01/14/21
Lincoln bill zoomed on his face
This year’s Top Ten Non-Healthcare False Claims Act Recoveries demonstrates the False Claims Act’s power to combat an array of corporate misconduct spanning diverse industries. In 2020, the United States recovered hundreds of millions in taxpayer funds obtained through claims rendered false by bribery and bid-rigging schemes, mortgage underwriting fraud, avoided import duties, fraudulent loan applications, and...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Customs Fraud, FCA Federal, Government Loan Programs, Government Programs Fraud, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10, Whistleblower Case,

Read More

Top Ten Federal Financial Fraud Recoveries of 2020

Posted  01/14/21
man pocketing cash in suit
The U.S. government has many enforcement options for financial and investment fraud, including those that provide for whistleblower rewards such as the SEC Whistleblower Program, the CFTC Whistleblower Program, and the IRS Whistleblower Program.  These programs, along with a new one under the Anti-Money-Laundering Act of 2020, are open for business and promise to pay millions of dollars in whistleblower awards in...

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Customs Fraud, Education Fraud, Financial and Investment Fraud, Financial Institution Fraud, FIRREA, Government Loan Programs, Housing and Mortgage Fraud, Top 10,

Read More
1 2 3

Newsletter

Subscribe to receive email updates from the Constantine Cannon blogs

Sign up for: