CBP L.A. Supervisory Officer Arrested for Accepting Bribes to Facilitate Smuggling
A CBP supervisory officer was arrested Oct. 25 on charges of accepting bribes to allow others, including his ex-wife, to avoid duties on goods imported into the U.S. by falsely declaring the goods had been transported in-bond to another port of entry for export. Sam Herbert Allen of Diamond Bar, Calif., was indicted by a federal grand jury at the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on one count of conspiracy, one count of accepting bribes, and three counts of making false statements to DHS investigators.
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According to the indictment, between 2004 and 2008 Allen was a supervisory officer assigned to oversee the examination and release of cargo located at foreign-trade zones. In May 2008, Allen became a supervisory officer assigned to oversee the bag searches at Los Angeles International Airport’s Tom Bradley Terminal.
Allen’s ex-wife, Wei Lai, operated the Southern California 3rd Party Logistics and Industry Free Trade Zone, d/b/a Industry Free Trade Zone, in Los Angeles.
Under Allen’s instructions, Lai would import merchandise from China, and falsely declare that the goods had moved in-bond to a port of entry for export to Mexico in order to avoid paying duties, the Justice Department alleged. The merchandise was actually delivered to warehouses in California for direct consumption in U.S. commerce, it said. In return for payments of $2,000 per shipment, Allen said he would alter a CBP database to falsely show that the merchandise had been exported, even though Allen knew the shipments remained in the U.S., the indictment said. Allen received payments from Lai totaling about $100,000, it said. The U.S. government lost out on $781,632.59 in unpaid duties and taxes, it said.
When approached by DHS investigators, Allen denied all involvement in the scheme, DoJ said. Allen denied knowing that Lai was even working or that she had anything to do with importing goods, the indictment said. In a subsequent meeting with Lai to try to “get on the same sheet of music,” Allen counseled Lai to tell DHS investigators that she had committed the crimes under duress due to threats by a person who, unbeknownst to Allen, was a cooperating witness for DHS, it said.
Meanwhile, Allen was also under investigation for a scheme to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. from Mexico, DoJ said. When questioned by DHS investigators, Allen denied making statements to the same cooperating witness about his alleged plans, it said.
If he's convicted of the five counts in the indictment, Allen would face a statutory maximum penalty of 35 years in federal prison, said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. Allen's ex-wife, Wei Lai, was charged with crimes related to her role in the smuggling scheme in July 2011. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is scheduled to go to trial with another defendant Feb. 19, 2013, ICE said.
ICE press release is here.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the indictment.