Carlton Llewellyn, former senior executive at cargo airline Polar Air Cargo Worldwide, pleaded guilty on Jan. 16 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of a scheme to defraud the airline, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced. The count comes with a maximum five-year prison stint, and in addition, Llewellyn agreed to pay $347,879.44 in forfeiture and a restitution payment of $305,800 to Polar. Sentencing is scheduled for May 7.
The Court of International Trade on Jan. 16 sent back CBP's finding that importer Columbia Aluminum Products' door thresholds evaded the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on aluminum extrusions from China. Judge Timothy Stanceu said CBP, in both the final evasion decision and an administrative review of the decision, committed "multiple errors, both of fact and of law." The judge said CBP didn't have evidence on its side in making the evasion finding, nor did it properly initiate the investigation.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 8-14:
Customs attorney and former CBP official Sandra Bell previously with DLA Piper, joined Rimon PC as a partner, she announced on LinkedIn. Bell advises clients on regulations related to customs tariffs and import issues.
The Federal Maritime Commission opened a proceeding against attorney Marcus Nussbaum pertaining to alleged professional misconduct, in which Nussbaum will have a chance to show cause why he should not be hit with a penalty or suspension of his ability to practice before the comission.
Roop Bhatti, former International Trade Commission chief of staff, has joined trade law firm Cassidy Levy as a partner, the firm announced in an email. She worked at the ITC for nearly five years, also serving as counsel to Commissioner Jason Kearns and an attorney adviser.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 1-7:
Chandri Navarro, former partner at Hogan Lovells, joined Baker McKenzie as senior counsel in the North America International Commercial and Trade Practice in Washington, D.C., the firm announced. Navarro, who worked at Hogan Lovells for over 20 years, is a Customs and International Trade Bar Association board member and an American Bar Foundation fellow.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Dec. 25-31:
U.S. solar cell maker Auxin Solar and solar module designer Concept Clean Energy launched a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade on Dec. 29 to contest the Commerce Department's pause of antidumping and countervailing duties on crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from Southeast Asian found to be circumventing the AD/CVD orders on these products from China (Auxin Solar v. U.S., CIT # 23-00274).