Articles Tagged with CBP

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Centric Parts of California evaded 2.5% tariff by misclassifying “mounted” brake pads as “unmounted.”

In yet another False Claims Act settlement involving customs fraud and tariff enforcement, California aftermarket auto partshutterstock_493303243-300x200s supplier CWD Holdings, LLC – which does business as Centric Parts – has agreed to pay $8 million to revolve claims it knowingly evaded import duties owed on imported brake pads.  Two former employees of Centric who blew the whistle on the customs fraud scheme by filing qui tam lawsuits under the False Claims Act will share a $1.48 million reward.

If you have information about customs fraud and would like to discuss your rights, reach out to whistleblower attorney Mark A. Strauss, who has represented whistleblowers in successful cases based on customs fraud in the past.

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Downstream wholesaler allegedly turned a blind eye to suppliers’ import fraud while receiving goods at below-market prices. Whistleblowers reap rshutterstock_214476049-300x200ewards.

The increased use of the False Claims Act to combat duty evasion has alarmed importers — as it well should!

Liability under the False Claims Act can be significant — three times damages plus penalties for each false entry document.  This is far more severe than the penalties generally awarded in U.S. Customs & Border Protection administrative proceedings.  The False Claims Act’s qui tam provisions also incentivize whistleblowers to come forward and expose import fraud by offering awards of up to 30% of the amount recovered.  Current and former employees of importers — as well as their competitors — have reaped millions of dollars in awards for filing whistleblower claims.

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