Two Indicted Over Failure to Report Defective Humidifiers from China to CPSC

Two executives are facing criminal charges over failure to report known issues with imported dehumidifiers from China to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Department of Justice said in March 29 news release. The DOJ described it as the "first-ever criminal prosecution for failure to report under" the Consumer Product Safety Act. Charley Loh and Simon Chu were both executives at two "unindicted co-conspirator" California companies that "imported, distributed and sold dehumidifiers to retailers," according to the indictment. "The indictment alleges that as early as September 2012, Chu, Loh, and their companies received multiple reports that their Chinese dehumidifiers were defective, dangerous, and could catch fire," the DOJ said. "They also allegedly knew that they were required to report this product safety information to the CPSC immediately. Despite their knowledge of consumer complaints of dehumidifier fires and test results showing problems with the dehumidifiers, the indictment alleges that Chu and Loh failed to disclose their dehumidifiers’ defects and hazards for at least six months while they continued to sell their products to retailers for resale to consumers." Loh and Chu also allegedly sought to avoid a recall by "fraudulently representing" the dehumidifiers "as meeting UL safety standards and being safe for use by consumers."