The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 13-19:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Feb. 6-12:
A company that sold Nicaraguan cheese in transit before entry cannot claim Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) benefits on the cheese because it is not the importer, even though it is still listed as importer of record on entry documentation, the Court of International Trade said in a recent decision (here).
The lengthy detention of some $25 million worth of aluminum products falls within the government's broad authority to control the movement of cargo through seaports, the Justice Department said in a Feb. 10 filing with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California's Eastern Division. The court filing was in response to a lawsuit filed by Perfectus Aluminum over the detention of aluminum goods in September (see 1701130033). While the Perfectus suit claimed that CBP's detentions of the goods was costing the company millions of dollars before any seizure or forfeiture proceeding began, the containers were seized soon after the company filed, the DOJ said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 30 - Feb. 5:
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 23-29:
A Missouri woman was sentenced to two years in prison by a Western Missouri U.S. District Court judge on Jan. 19 for selling more than $90 million worth of counterfeit cellphone components that had been imported from China, ICE said in a press release (here). Sherrie Householder, 59, of Nixa, Missouri, had pleaded guilty on May 26, 2016, to mail fraud, money laundering and tax evasion, it said. From 2012 through 2016, Householder managed the U.S. operations of Flash Technology, selling counterfeit cellphone replacement screens, batteries, cases and internal circuitry but representing they were made by Apple, Samsung, LG, Microsoft and other electronics manufacturers. Wang Luo, a Chinese citizen, shipped the counterfeit components to Householder from China. After numerous seizures of shipments by CBP, Householder continued selling the cellphone components despite knowing they were counterfeit. The court also ordered Householder to forfeit $556,938 seized from her accounts and pay a money judgment of nearly $9 million, ICE said.
The following lawsuits were filed at the Court of International Trade during the week of Jan. 16-22:
Dmitriy Melnik received a 46-month prison sentence from a Nevada federal judge following Melnik's guilty plea on conspiracy charges for trafficking in counterfeit contact lenses (see 1609140035), the Department of Justice said in a news release (here). Melnik, who owned and operated Candy Color Lenses, was also ordered to "remit $200,000 in restitution and forfeit $1.2 million in proceeds derived from the scheme as well as property seized during the investigation," it said. Melnik knowingly imported counterfeit lenses or lenses unapproved by the Food and Drug Administration from China and South Korea, according to the plea agreement. Melnik then sold the products over the internet to customers "without a prescription, adequate directions for use or adequate warnings," the DOJ said.
Popp Forest Products destroyed 24 pallets of timber from Peru as part of a settlement over allegations of Lacey Act violations, the Justice Department said on Jan. 18 (here). The timber was imported by Popp Forest and seized by ICE Homeland Security Investigations in December of 2015 at the Port of Houston, the DOJ said. The settlement marks the first time the U.S. "has taken such action under the Lacey Act, which was amended in 2008 to include timber products," the DOJ said. The settlement "resolves allegations that the timber was harvested in Peru without proper authorization as required under Peruvian law or outside an approved zone," it said. The company agreed to "bear all costs associated with the transportation, destruction, and disposal of the seized timber" and the DOJ agreed to waive further civil enforcement action, it said.