The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 23-29:

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 16-22:

A Missouri woman was sentenced to two years in prison by a Western Missouri U.S. District Court judge on Jan. 19 for selling more than $90 million worth of counterfeit cellphone components that had been imported from China, ICE said in a press release (here). Sherrie Householder, 59, of Nixa, Missouri, had pleaded guilty on May 26, 2016, to mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, it said. From 2012 through 2016, Householder managed the U.S. operations of Flash Technology, selling counterfeit cellphone replacement screens, batteries, cases and internal circuitry but representing they were made by Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and other electronics manufacturers. Wang Luo, a Chinese citizen, shipped the counterfeit components to Householder from China. After numerous seizures of shipments by CBP, Householder continued selling the cellphone components despite knowing they were counterfeit. The court also ordered Householder to forfeit $556,938 seized from her accounts and pay a money judgment of nearly $9 million, ICE said.

Dmitriy Melnik received a 46-month prison sentence from a Nevada federal judge following Melnik's guilty plea on conspiracy charges for trafficking in counterfeit contact lenses (see 1609140035), the Department of Justice said in a news release (here). Melnik, who owned and operated Candy Color Lenses, was also ordered to "remit $200,000 in restitution and forfeit $1.2 million in proceeds derived from the scheme as well as property seized during the investigation," it said. Melnik knowingly imported counterfeit lenses or lenses unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration from China and South Korea, according to the plea agreement. Melnik then sold the products over the internet to customers "without a prescription, adequate directions for use or adequate warnings," the DOJ said.

Popp Forest Products destroyed 24 pallets of timber from Peru as part of a settlement over allegations of Lacey Act violations, the Justice Department said on Jan. 18 (here). The timber was imported by Popp Forest and seized by ICE Homeland Security Investigations in December of 2015 at the Port of Houston, the DOJ said. The settlement marks the first time the U.S. "has taken such action under the Lacey Act, which was amended in 2008 to include timber products," the DOJ said. The settlement "resolves allegations that the timber was harvested in Peru without proper authorization as required under Peruvian law or outside an approved zone," it said. The company agreed to "bear all costs associated with the transportation, destruction, and disposal of the seized timber" and the DOJ agreed to waive further civil enforcement action, it said.

A dispute over country of origin marking on hand tools imported from Taiwan heads to a trial by jury, after a New Jersey U.S. District Court judge recently declined to decide the case until more factual details are available. Newborn Bros., an importer of Taiwanese hand tools, alleges Albion Engineering engaged in unfair competition under the Lanham Act and New Jersey law by falsely advertising its products were made in the U.S. despite importing them from Taiwan. The judge held Newborn did not present sufficiently detailed proof of false marking and advertising, and left it for a jury to decide whether Albion’s allegedly false advertising cost Newborn sales.

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 9-15:

Perfectus Aluminum is suing the federal government and customs officials over what the company sees as an improper seizure and detention of aluminum goods that were seized in September, according to a court document filed by Perfectus in late December. Perfectus filed the lawsuit in a federal district court in California in pursuit of "equitable relief for the return of property unlawfully detained by CBP," it said in a filing. The seizures and court case were first reported by The Wall Street Journal (here), which has published a series of stories about possibly illegal efforts to avoid antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum products from China.

Volkswagen reached an agreement with CBP, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice to settle charges that it illegally imported vehicles with diesel engines that did not conform to U.S. emissions requirements, said the DOJ in a news release (here). The company agreed to pay $4.3 billion in criminal and civil fines. It will also plead "guilty to three felonies: conspiracy to defraud the United States, to commit wire fraud, and to violate the Clean Air Act; obstruction of justice; and importation of goods by false statements," said the DOJ. Volkswagen will pay $1.45 billion to resolve the EPA and CBP civil claims, said the DOJ in a more detailed release (here). “Volkswagen’s attempts to dodge emissions standards and import falsely certified vehicles into the country represent an egregious violation of our nation’s environmental, consumer protection and financial laws,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. The company already agreed to pay up to $14.7 billion to mitigate pollution and buy back the affected vehicles, which were equipped with “defeat devices” that limited emissions only during emissions testing (see 1606280047). The defeat devices were not listed on certificates of conformity Volkswagen filed with the EPA, and were illegal for importation (see 1601050032). "At the time of importation, VW falsely represented to CBP that each of the nearly 590,000 imported vehicles complied with all applicable environmental laws, knowing those representations to be untrue," said the DOJ. "CBP’s relationship with the importing community is one based on trust, and this resolution demonstrates that CBP will not tolerate abrogation of importer responsibilities and schemes to defraud the revenue of the United States."

The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 2-8: