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Customs Fraud

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to fraud in customs and tariffs. You may also be interested in the following pages:

Page 1 of 7

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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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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,

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