LOS ANGELES
A downtown Los Angeles clothing importer and two executives were sentenced for avoiding more than $8 million in customs duties and laundering over $17 million in cash tied to drug trafficking, federal officials announced Tuesday.
C’est Toi Jeans Inc. (CTJ) received five years’ probation, federal monitoring, an $11.5 million fine, and $15 million restitution.
Si Oh Rhew, 71, CTJ president and majority owner, was sentenced to 103 months in prison, fined $8 million, and ordered to pay $19 million in restitution.
Lance Rhew, 38, a CTJ officer and Rhew’s son, received 84 months in prison, a $500,000 fine, and restitution.
Prosecutors said CTJ concealed bulk drug cash payments, failed to file required transaction reports, omitted $17 million in sales from IRS filings, and submitted false customs declarations undervaluing imports by $51 million. That scheme generated $8.4 million in unpaid tariffs, according to authorities.
After a six-week trial, a jury convicted the company and both executives in October 2024 on conspiracy, false customs filings, money laundering, and tax fraud counts.