Samsung Settles Allegations of Inaccurate Country of Origin Claims
Samsung Electronics America will pay $2.3 million to settle with the Justice Department over allegations of providing inaccurate country of origin claims to resellers, the DOJ said in a press release. The company was accused of causing "the submission of false claims for products sold on General Service Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts in violation of the Trade Agreements Act," said the release. "Samsung caused resellers of its products to sell items on their GSA MAS contracts in violation of the TAA by knowingly providing inaccurate information to the resellers regarding the country of origin of the goods," the DOJ said.
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The government said that "Samsung represented to the resellers, who in turn represented to federal agencies, that the specified products were made in TAA designated countries, generally Korea or Mexico, when the specified products were in fact manufactured in China, which is not a TAA designated country." The allegations began with a Robert Simmons, a former Samsung employee who made the claims under whistleblower provisions, which allow the whistleblower to share in any recovered money. Simmons' share has not yet been determined, said the DOJ. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court of Maryland.
Both the DOJ and Samsung note that there's been no finding of liability related to the case. “Samsung Electronics fully cooperated with the DOJ’s investigation, and the claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only," said a Samsung spokeswoman in an emailed statement. "There has been no determination of wrongdoing by the company. We are committed to working with the government, and abiding by its regulations."