California Importer Pays $1.2 Million to Settle Whistleblower Suit on Fake Invoices
A California importer has paid $1.2 million to settle a False Claims Act lawsuit that alleged it fudged entry documentation, said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California on March 12. Bizlink Technology, an importer of computer cable assemblies located in Fremont, California, allegedly underpaid customs duties on goods it imported from China based on false invoices. A whistleblower that used to work for the company brought the lawsuit and will share in the proceeds.
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The U.S. Attorney alleges that from 2006 through 2008, Bizlink would obtain two invoices for each shipment from a factory in Shenzhen, China. One invoice showed what Bizlink actually paid, and the second invoice falsely stated a lower cost, the government alleged. Bizlink used the false invoices to calculate the amounts of duties it owed and submitted them to CBP, which resulted in “substantial underpayments,” said the attorney’s office.
A manager who used to work at Bizlink brought the lawsuit under the “qui tam” whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act. The former employee will receive $252,000 of the settlement as his share.