Archive

October 3, 2017

Pennsylvania garment wholesaler Notations, Inc. agreed to pay $1 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by repeatedly ignoring warning signs that its business partners, Yingshun Garments Inc., Import Global Designs Inc., and Olgrem LLC, which imported garments from China, were engaged in a fraudulent double-invoicing scheme to underpay customs duties owed on the imported garments they sold to Notations.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower, Xing Wei, will receive an award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (SDNY)

May 1, 2017

Texas-based importer Import Merchandising Concepts L.P. agreed to pay $275,000 to resolve allegations it improperly evaded customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China by misclassifying the furniture as non-bedroom furniture, which is not subject to any antidumping duties. DOJ

March 7, 2017

Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corporation agreed to enter a guilty plea and pay a $430 million penalty for conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by illegally shipping U.S.-origin items to Iran.  ZTE simultaneously reached settlements with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for a total government payout of $892 million.  In addition, the BIS suspended an additional $300 million which ZTE will pay if it violates the settlement.  See DOJ Press Release.  The settlements relate to ZTE’s shipment of roughly $32 million worth of U.S.-origin items to Iran without obtaining the proper export licenses from the U.S. government.  The products were supplied in connection with two Iranian contracts for the installation of cellular and landline network infrastructure. Whistleblower Insider

January 11, 2017

Volkswagen AG agreed to plead guilty to three criminal felony counts and pay a $2.8 billion criminal penalty as a result of the company’s long-running scheme to sell approximately 590,000 diesel vehicles in the U.S. by using a defeat device to cheat on emissions tests mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board, and lying and obstructing justice to further the scheme. In separate civil resolutions of environmental, customs and financial claims, VW also agreed to pay $1.5 billion for a total payout of $4.3 billion in criminal and civil penalties. DOJ

September 30, 2016

Daniel Scott Goldman and his companies, Ecologic Industries LLC and OMNI SCM LLC, agreed to pay $1,525,000 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by making false statements to avoid paying duties on wooden bedroom furniture imported from China.  According to the government, the defendants misclassified or conspired with others to misclassify wooden bedroom furniture on documents presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to avoid paying antidumping duties on Chinese imports of wooden bedroom furniture.  Specifically, Goldman and his companies allegedly classified the furniture as office and other types of furniture not subject to duties while selling the furniture in the student housing market for use in dormitory bedrooms.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Matthew L. Bissanti, Jr. under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  Bissanti will receive a whistleblower award of $228,750 from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (WDTX)

July 13, 2016

Clothing importer Motives, Inc. and its affiliated foreign clothing manufacturers Motives Far East and Motives China Ltd. agreed to pay $13.375 million to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by engaging in a double invoicing scheme to defraud the United States out of millions of dollars in customs duties.  As part of the settlement, the companies admitted to and accepted responsibility for under-reporting the value of its imported merchandise.  Under the scheme, the companies used two sets of invoices: one that undervalued the garments and was presented to the government for calculation of the appropriate customs duty, and the second that reflected the actual value of the garments.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act.  The whistleblower will receive a yet-to-be-determined whistleblower award from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ (SDNY)

June 14, 2016

Erdal Kuyumcu, the CEO of New York-based Global Metallurgy LLC, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, in connection with the export of specialty metals from the United States to Iran.  Kuyumcu and others conspired to obtain over 1,000 pounds of the metallic powder from a U.S.-based supplier for export to Iran.  To hide the true destination of the goods from the U.S. supplier, Kuyumcu and a co-conspirator arranged for the metallic powder to be shipped first to Turkey and then to Iran.  DOJ

June 10, 2016

Amin al-Baroudi was sentenced to 32 months in prison for conspiring to export U.S.-origin goods from the United States to Syria in violation of sanctions imposed on Syria by the U.S. government.  According to court documents, Baroudi admitted that from at least December 2011 through March 2013 he and his co-conspirators exported U.S. tactical equipment to Syria for the purpose of supplying and arming Ahrar al-Sham and other insurgent groups in Syria whose stated goal is to overthrow the Assad government and install an Islamic state.  DOJ

June 9, 2016

Wenxia Man was convicted of conspiring to export fighter jet engines, a drone and related technical data to China, in violation of the Arms Export Control Act.  DOJ

April 27, 2016

Los Angeles-based upscale furniture seller Z Gallerie LLC agreed to pay $15 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act through a scheme to evade customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China.  According to the government, Z Gallerie evaded antidumping duties by misclassifying, or conspiring with others to misclassify, the imported furniture as pieces intended for non-bedroom use.  The allegations originated in a whistleblower lawsuit filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act by Kelly Wells, an e-commerce retailer of furniture.  She will receive a whistleblower award of $2.4 million from the proceeds of the government's recovery.  DOJ