Calif. Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Prison for Misdeclaring Honey to Avoid AD Duties
A California woman was sentenced Sept. 30 to three years in prison for her part in a scheme to hide the identity of imported honey to avoid paying $39.2 million antidumping duties, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Hung Yi Lin, also known as Katy Lin, pleaded guilty in May at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois to falsely declaring that shipments of honey from China were instead sugars, syrups, and apple juice concentrate.
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According to the attorney’s office, Lin is the owner of KBB Express of South El Monte, Calif. She served as U.S. agent for at least 12 importers that were controlled by Chinese honey producers and manufacturers, it said. Between 2009 and 2012, Lin helped falsify importation documents for hundreds of containers of Chinese-origin honey worth about $11.5 million, said the attorney’s office. Lin has pleaded guilty to three counts of violating U.S. importation laws, and was sentenced to a year in prison for each of the three counts, to be served consecutively. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $512,852 in unpaid tariffs.
Email ITTNews@warren-news.com for a copy of the attorney’s office press release.