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Importer Seeks Over $68 Million From PPE Manufacturer, Says It Hid CBP Forced Labor Investigation
September 22, 2022 by Jacob Kopnick|Penalties and Courts

Personal protective equipment manufacturer defendants, led by Smart Glove Holdings, failed to disclose they were under investigation by CBP for using forced labor, leading to over $68.5 million in damages to protective equipment supplier Airboss Defense Group (ADG), ADG said in a Sept. 19 complaint. Filing suit in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, ADG claimed that had it known about this investigation, it would not have agreed to source its gloves from Smart Glove and would have avoided the millions in charges, logistics costs and storage fees it incurred due to the imports being detained under a withhold release order (Airboss Defense Group v. Smart Glove Holdings, C.D. Calif. #2:22-06727).

Topics:Forced Labor
California Clothing Wholesaler Agrees to Plead Guilty to Customs Fraud
September 21, 2022 |Penalties and Courts

Ghacham, a Paramount, California-based clothing wholesale company, agreed to plead guilty to criminally undervaluing imported garments in a scheme to skirt nearly $6.4 million in customs duties, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California announced Sept. 20. The scheme was also meant to hide the company's business with a woman in Mexico who has ties to the Sinaloa drug cartel, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Topics:Customs duty
Colo. Company, Owner to Pay $625,000 for Violating FCA, Lying About Chinese Origin of Goods Sold to US
September 7, 2022 |Penalties and Courts

Instec Inc., a scientific instrument technology company based in Colorado, and Dr. Zhong Zou, its owner and president, agreed to pay $625,000 to settle allegations that the company and Zou violated the False Claims Act, DOJ announced. Instec and Zou failed to comply with the requirements of the Buy American Act when selling scientific instruments claimed to have been made in the U.S. to U.S. federal agencies and national laboratories, DOJ said.

California Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Importing Wild Animals
August 25, 2022 |Penalties and Courts

Jose Manuel Perez, a resident of Oxnard, California, pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 to illegally importing over 1,700 wild animals, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said. The illegally smuggled animals include over 60 reptiles that were found hidden in his clothes at the U.S.-Mexico border. Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of smuggling goods into the U.S. and one count of wildlife trafficking.

CIT Says Nitrogen Oxide Sensor Classifiable as Instrument of Chemical Analysis
August 12, 2022 by Ben Perkins|Penalties and Courts

The Court of International Trade agreed with the government that a nitrogen oxide sensor probe for diesel engines should be classified as an instrument of chemical analysis under Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading 9027, rather than an instrument of measurement under heading 9026 (Continental Automotive Systems, Inc. v. U.S., CIT #18-00026). In an Aug. 12 opinion, Judge Jane Restani ruled in favor of the government's March 8 cross-motion for summary judgment (see 2203140007).

Topics:Court of International Trade