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Trade Agreements

This archive displays posts tagged as relevant to fraud in government contracting arising from violations of trade agreements and restrictions, including Buy American requirements and export restrictions. You may also be interested in the following pages:

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Tactical Gear Company Settles $2.1 Million False Claims Act Allegations

Posted  11/22/23
Soldier Gear Piled Together

The U.S Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Ohio has announced that London Bridge Trading Company, Ltd. (LBT), a Virginia headquartered manufacturer of tactical gear for military, law enforcement, and other organizations, has agreed to pay nearly $2.1 million to settle False Claims Act allegations.  The case, initiated by qui tam relator Ann Keating, involves accusations that LBT failed to comply with the...

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

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

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

September 10, 2021

Defense contractors Southeastern Equipment Co., Inc. and SECO Parts and Equipment Co. have agreed to pay $900,000 to resolve allegations that they knowingly billed for and provided equipment that was not in compliance with the Buy American Act or the rules of the U.S. Army’s Simplified Nonstandard Acquisition Program.  The government’s investigation was initiated by a the filing of a whistleblower suit under the False Claims Act.  USAO SD Ga

August 18, 2021

Defense contractor Iris Kim, Inc. (“I-Tek”), together with its owner and four employees, were sentenced on criminal charges arising out of a fraudulent scheme to falsely qualify for Department of Defense and other federal government supply contracts set aside for service-disabled veterans, import Chinese-manufactured goods in violation of the terms of these contracts, and falsely relabel these goods as if they were made in the U.S.  The U.S. spent over $7 million on fraudulently-imported goods sold by I-Tek.  Owner Beyung S. Kim was sentenced to 58 months in prison, and the four employees were sentenced to a combined 93 months in prison.  USAO ED VA

POGO Reveals Possible “Unholy Alliance” Between ADS, Inc. and the Pentagon

Posted  02/26/21
Business sign saying "Come In We're Open" in white on blue background
As small businesses throughout the United States struggle to survive the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, one company claiming to be a small business but with hundreds of employees and more than $3 billion in annual sales, as well as a long history of fraud allegations and settlements, continues to reap huge rewards from government contracts.  The company—Atlantic Diving Supply, Inc. (ADS)—is...

January 11, 2021

Defense contractor Raytheon Technologies Corporation and its subsidiary, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, have agreed to pay over $515,000 to settle allegations of submitting false claims for payment.  Between 2006 and 2015, Raytheon and Hamilton improperly certified that goods it sold either directly to the government or to suppliers selling to the government were of domestic origin, when in fact they were manufactured in Romania.  The false certifications violated the contracts’ domestic-preference requirements, the Buy American Act of 1933, and the False Claims Act.  USAO CT

December 16, 2020

Handicare USA, which manufactures and installs patient lift and mobility systems for healthcare facilities, agreed to pay $800,000 to resolve claims that it knowingly provided products to the Veterans Administration that failed to comply with the Trade Agreements Act.  A whistleblower tipped the government that Handicare patient lifts installed at VA facilities used parts made in China for the mounting system that secured the patient lift to the ceiling, and took steps to conceal its non-compliance, including by instructing that the products should be installed so that the “Made in China” stamps on metal parts would not be visible.  USAO DC
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