The whistleblower, a business competitor of the allegedly dishonest importer, received a $286,000 whistleblower reward. Industrial tools firm King Kong Tools has paid $1.9 million to settle a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it transshipped Chinese merchandise through Germany—fraudulently redesignating them as German origin—to circumvent applicable customs duties. Whistleblower China Pacificarbide—which competes with King Kong…
The former logistics staffer who reported the import-duty evasion will receive a $152K whistleblower reward. An importer of Chinese-manufactured ready-to-assemble furniture sold through such retailers as Walmart and Wayfair has paid $798,334 to resolve whistleblower claims it fraudulently used undervalued commercial invoices to reduce its import-duty obligations. A former employee…
Former employees who blew the whistle on the duty evasion will share a $500k whistleblower reward. ADCO Industries, a Texas-based importer of industrial products, has agreed to shell out $2.5 million to end a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it knowingly undervalued merchandise from China to fraudulently reduce its customs duties. Two…
Former Yakima employee to receive $500k False Claims Act whistleblower reward. Yakima Products, a maker of automobile accessories such as hitches and roof racks, will pay $3 million to resolve a whistleblower lawsuit alleging it knowingly underdeclared its customs duties and misdeclared the country-of-origin of its imports. The qui tam…
Customs-Fraud Whistleblower receives $115K Award. Drug distributor Danco Laboratories has agreed to pay $765,000 to resolve a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging it violated the False Claims Act by failing to pay marking duties on products it imported from China without country-of-origin labels. Imports are required to be labeled with their…
Samsung C&T America allegedly declared incorrect HTS tariff classifications on its customs entry documents. A U.S. unit of the South Korean conglomerate Samsung (KSE: KRX:028260.KS) has agreed to pay $1 million to settle allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying imports to evade customs duties. According to…
International Vitamin Corp. allegedly violated the False Claims Act by misclassifying imports from China as “duty free.” International Vitamin Corp., a producer of store-brand vitamins and supplements, has agreed to pay $22.8 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by knowingly evading customs duties on imports from…
High Life LLC allegedly reported phony “first sale” prices on import declarations filed with CBP. New York apparel wholesaler High Life LLC has paid the U.S. government $1.3 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by underdeclaring the value of its imports. According to the U.S. Department…
A federal jury returned a $24 million judgment against an importer of Chinese steel pipe fittings, finding that it knowingly violated the False Claims Act by evading applicable anti-dumping duties. The importer says its non-payment of duties was “objectively reasonable.” False Claims Act lawyers are monitoring the appeal in U.S.…
OneBigOutlet allegedly evaded millions of dollars in duties on imports from China by filing commercial invoices with CBP understating its purchase prices. California importer RGE Motor Direct Inc., which does business under the name OneBigOutlet, has paid $3.25 million to resolve allegations it fraudulently underreported the prices it paid for…