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Recent CIT Opinions Strengthen Cannabis Importers' Legal Argument, Lawyer Says
December 21, 2022 by Jacob Kopnick|Penalties and Courts

Cannabis and cannabis accessory importers now have a "strong legal argument with potentially broad applications to challenge CBP's seizures" of marijuana paraphernalia in light of two recent Court of International Trade decisions, Harris Bricken lawyer Adams Lee said in a Dec. 16 blog post. Both cases involved the question of whether an importer could enter marijuana-related drug paraphernalia into Washington state, given that marijuana was made legal at the state level but remained illegal federally. Lee said that given how the opinions were structured, a state law repealing a past prohibition on such products "could be enough of an 'authorization' by the state law to block the federal prohibition on importing drug paraphernalia."

Topics:Court of International Trade
Guinea National Sentenced for Trafficking Rhinoceros Horn, Elephant Ivory
December 15, 2022 |Penalties and Courts

Amara Cherif, a citizen of Guinea, was sentenced to 57 months in prison for conspiring to traffic millions of dollars' worth of rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said Dec. 14. Two of Cherif's co-conspirators were previously sentenced to 63 months and 54 months. The defendant's trafficking involved the poaching of more than 35 rhinoceros and over 100 elephants.

US Seeks Over $15 Million From Importer at CIT for Customs Fraud on Vegetable Entries
December 7, 2022 by Jacob Kopnick|Penalties and Courts

Importer Sun Ray Group and its owner, Jihua "Mike" Liu, face over $15 million in penalties for alleged fraud and lying on customs forms and underpayment duties on vegetable entries. A complaint at the Court of International Trade filed Dec. 6 by the DOJ says that Liu and Sun Ray avoided duties on 216 entries of dried and dehydrated garlic, onion and other vegetables, and also owe nearly $2 million in unpaid duties (United States v. Jihua "Mike" Liu, CIT #22-00330).

Topics:Court of International Trade
Colorado Importer, Danish Parent Company Pay Over $700K to Settle Charges Over Customs Duties
December 2, 2022 by Jacob Kopnick|Penalties and Courts

Colorado-based Ellab Inc. and its Danish parent company, Ellab A/S, paid the U.S. over $700,000 to settle charges that it failed to pay customs duties on imports of thermal validation equipment, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado announced Dec. 1. The U.S. alleged Ellab failed to classify its imports and properly declare their value, neglecting to pay the full amount of the duties owed on the goods.

Topics:Harmonized Tariff Schedule, Customs duty
Texas Resident Pleads Guilty to Falsely Declaring Chinese Goods Were Made in US
December 1, 2022 |Penalties and Courts

Grand Prairie, Texas, resident Suhaib Allababidi pleaded guilty Nov. 30 to lying to the government about the origin of his company's products, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Texas announced. The defendant and his company, 2M Solutions, both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the U.S. The company also pleaded guilty to one count of filing false or misleading export information.