The Department of Justice reports that a federal grand jury recently returned an indictment charging two companies and their top executives for defrauding the federal government on sales of forklifts and conspiring to avoid paying proper tariffs on imported forklifts. The news follows the DOJ’s recent launch of a “revitalized” interagency Trade Fraud Task Force that will “aggressively pursue enforcement actions,” potentially including criminal charges, “against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy.”
According to the DOJ, the two companies, two current executives, and one former executive allegedly conspired to import forklifts from China, disguise their Chinese origin, and then sell them to federal government agencies by fraudulently representing them as being manufactured in the U.S. The indictment also alleges that these entities conspired with an unnamed Chinese national and a Chinese manufacturer to create fake commercial invoices that fraudulently undervalued the cost of forklifts imported into the U.S., thereby defrauding the government of over $1 million in applicable tariffs, duties, and fees.
For the charge of conspiring to enter goods into the U.S. by means of false or fraudulent statements, the individuals face up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and the corporations could be fined up to $500,000 or twice the gain derived from (or the loss caused by) the offense. The charge of making false statements to the government carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
The individuals are each additionally charged with wire fraud and one of them is also charged with making false statements to the government. Each count of conviction carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Copyright © 2025 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.