{"id":49378,"date":"2022-04-11T17:50:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-12T00:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49378"},"modified":"2022-04-11T17:50:22","modified_gmt":"2022-04-12T00:50:22","slug":"six-companies-ordered-to-pay-1-8-billion-for-scheming-to-avoid-aluminum-custom-fees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=49378","title":{"rendered":"Six Companies Ordered to Pay $1.8 Billion for Scheming to Avoid Aluminum Custom Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><strong>LOS ANGELES\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-3918 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Department-of-Justice-300x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Department-of-Justice-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Department-of-Justice-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Department-of-Justice.png 350w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Six Southern California companies on Monday were ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution for conspiring to defraud the federal government, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The scheme involved a scheme in which huge amounts of aluminum \u2013 disguised as \u201cpallets\u201d to avoid $1.8 billion in customs duties \u2013 were exported to the U.S..<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Then, aluminum was \u201csold\u201d to fraudulently inflate a China-based company\u2019s revenues and deceive investors worldwide.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner sentenced two aluminum businesses and four warehousing companies \u2013 all of which were related to one another \u2013 to five years of probation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The judge then ordered them to pay $1.83 billion in restitution. The defendants are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Perfectus Aluminium Inc., an Ontario-based business;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Perfectus Aluminium Acquisitions LLC, a subsidiary of Perfectus Aluminium formed in 2014 to oversee several companies that received aluminum pallets shipped to the United States after duties were imposed on Chinese aluminum in 2011;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Scuderia Development LLC, which owns a warehouse in Riverside;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">1001 Doubleday LLC, which owns a warehouse in Ontario;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Von Karman \u2013 Main Street LLC, which owns a warehouse in Irvine; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">10681 Production Avenue LLC, which owns a warehouse in Fontana.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/photo-by-rusticusa\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-49380\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-49380 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/466542-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/466542-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/466542-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/466542-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/466542.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>At the conclusion of a nine-day trial in August 2021, a federal jury found all six corporate entities guilty of one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud and seven counts of passing false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The Perfectus Aluminium defendants also were found guilty of seven counts of international promotional money laundering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u201cThe Perfectus and Warehouse defendants were integral participants in this conspiracy,\u201d prosecutors wrote in a sentencing memorandum. \u201cIndeed, they existed only to perpetuate it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1073 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"299\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2.jpg 299w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-120x76.jpg 120w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-265x168.jpg 265w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-284x180.jpg 284w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/criminal_justice_jurisprudence-2-274x173.jpg 274w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 299px) 100vw, 299px\" \/>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The corporate defendants sentenced today \u2013 along with indicted defendants China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd., Asia\u2019s largest manufacturer of aluminum extrusions; Zhongtian Liu, the company\u2019s former president and chairman; and several other individuals \u2013 lied to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to avoid paying the $1.8 billion in antidumping and countervailing duties (AD\/CVD) that were imposed in 2011 on certain types of extruded aluminum imported into the U.S. from China.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The aluminum sold to United States-based companies controlled by Liu was simply aluminum extrusions that were spot-welded together to make them appear to be functional pallets. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-48917 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1yeql23dvji-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"brown wooden chairs inside room\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1yeql23dvji-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1yeql23dvji-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1yeql23dvji-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/1yeql23dvji.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/>In fact, there were no customers for the 2.2 million pallets imported by the Liu-controlled companies between 2011 and 2014, and no pallets were ever sold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The vast majority of the pallets were imported through the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and then stockpiled at four large warehouses in Southern California, all of which were purchased at Liu\u2019s direction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Liu and his co-defendants orchestrated the bogus sales of aluminum to Liu-controlled companies in Southern California to falsely inflate China Zhongwang\u2019s value. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Liu was the majority owner of China Zhongwang, which has been listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong since a 2009 initial public offering that raised $1.26 billion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 After the AD\/CVD duties were put in place in 2011, China Zhongwang\u2019s annual reports falsely claimed that there was a robust demand for aluminum pallets in the United States. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11468 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/US_Customs_and_Border_Protection_-_Border_Patrol_Patch-261x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"261\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/US_Customs_and_Border_Protection_-_Border_Patrol_Patch-261x300.jpg 261w, https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/US_Customs_and_Border_Protection_-_Border_Patrol_Patch.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 261px) 100vw, 261px\" \/>Although the annual reports asserted that the aluminum pallets were being sold to independent third parties \u2013 and the defendants used these reported \u201csales\u201d to inflate China Zhongwang\u2019s reported sales volume and purported volume of exports to the United States \u2013 in fact, the aluminum was being stockpiled by Liu-controlled entities in more than 2 million square feet of warehouse space owned by the warehouse defendants in Southern California, as well as at Liu\u2019s New Jersey facility.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since there was no actual demand for the pallets, Liu and China Zhongwang arranged for aluminum melting facilities to be built and acquired, which were to be used to reconfigure the aluminum imported as pallets into a form with commercial value.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The defendants facilitated their schemes by laundering hundreds of millions of dollars through shell companies to the U.S.-based aluminum companies controlled by Liu. The funds were then transferred to China Zhongwang and the other shell companies as payments for the aluminum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">On March 24, Judge Klausner ordered the forfeiture to the United States the seized aluminum, currently estimated to be worth approximately $70 million.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The remaining four defendants charged in a 2019 federal grand jury indictment have yet to appear in federal court to face the criminal charges in this matter:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Zhongtian Liu, 58, a billionaire Chinese citizen who is a former Tustin resident, and who is the former president and former chairman of the board of China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd.;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd., a publicly-traded aluminum company based in Liaoyang City that at the time of the indictment was the largest aluminum extrusion manufacturer in Asia and the second largest in the world, and which has accrued approximately $3.6 million in contempt sanctions for its failure to appear in this case;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Zhaohua Chen, 62, a Chinese national who allegedly was a close friend of Liu and a key player in the scheme; and<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Xiang Chun Shao, a.k.a. \u201cJohnson Shao,\u201d60, most recently of Irvine, who allegedly managed a collection of Southern California businesses that pretended to be independent third parties importing the Chinese aluminum, including the Perfectus defendants.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">In 2017, the United States Attorney\u2019s Office filed civil forfeiture actions against the four Southern California warehouses used by Perfectus to store the pallets. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">In 2018, the government filed a fifth civil forfeiture complaint against \u201capproximately 279,808 Aluminum Structures in the Shape of Pallets,\u201d about half of which were seized in early 2017 at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">The other half were seized from three other warehouses Perfectus was using to store the pallets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Those civil asset forfeiture cases have stayed pending the completion of the criminal prosecution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"yiv1852118080MsoNormal\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-size: 20px;\">Homeland Security Investigations and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this matter.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Six Southern California companies on Monday were ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution for conspiring to defraud the federal government, according to officials. The scheme involved a scheme in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Six Companies Ordered to Pay $1.8 Billion for Scheming to Avoid Aluminum Custom Fees<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES\u00a0 Six Southern California companies on Monday were ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution for conspiring to defraud the federal\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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