{"id":52951,"date":"2023-04-24T17:59:18","date_gmt":"2023-04-25T00:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951"},"modified":"2023-04-24T18:05:58","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T01:05:58","slug":"millions-of-chinese-made-dehumidifiers-bought-in-u-s-were-fire-hazards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951","title":{"rendered":"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire, officials stated.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gree USA Inc. was sentenced this morning after pleading guilty in January to a felony violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA). <\/span><\/p>\n

The fine and provisions to pay restitution to victims were part of a $91 million resolution<\/a> with three related Gree companies, representing the first corporate criminal enforcement action ever brought under the CPSA.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gree USA, a U.S. subsidiary of Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co., Ltd. (Gree Hong Kong), entered a plea agreement concerning <\/span>criminal information filed in 2021. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Gree USA pleaded guilty to one felony count under the CPSA of willfully failing to report consumer product safety information to the CPSC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Gree Electric Appliances, Inc. of Zhuhai (Gree Zhuhai), a global appliance manufacturer headquartered in Zhuhai, China, and Gree Hong Kong, entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) in connection with the same case. <\/span><\/p>\n

Under the terms of the DPA, Gree Zhuhai, and Gree Hong Kong agreed to a total monetary penalty of $91 million and also agreed to provide restitution for any uncompensated victims of fires caused by the companies\u2019 defective dehumidifiers. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"Consistent with Justice Department policy, the DPA with Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong credits the Gree Companies\u2019 earlier payment of $15.45 million in civil penalties to the CPSC against the agreed-upon $91 million total monetary penalty.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to court filings, Gree Zhuhai, Gree Hong Kong and Gree USA (collectively, the Gree Companies) knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet applicable safety standards, and could catch fire, but the companies failed to report that information to the CPSC for months. <\/span><\/p>\n

The companies reported and recalled the dehumidifiers only after consumer complaints of fires and resulting harm continued to mount.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cThis corporation endangered the safety of American consumers by failing to report a known problem with their defective humidifiers promptly,\u201d said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. \u201cFortunately, authorities were able to stop this practice before Gree USA could cause greater harm. This historic case underscores our commitment to protect the public from dangerous products that could cause consumers real harm and to hold accountable corporate entities who knowingly violate our laws in promotion of their greed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As part of the Gree USA plea agreement and the Gree Zhuhai and Gree Hong Kong DPA, the Gree Companies admitted that, between 2007 and 2013, they sold in the United States more than two million dehumidifiers manufactured by Gree Zhuhai and imported by Gree Hong Kong. I<\/span><\/p>\n

n September 2012, employees of the Gree Companies, including high-level executives, learned that the Gree dehumidifiers had defects that could cause them to overheat and catch fire, and that consumers had reported fires caused by the dehumidifiers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those employees also knew the obligation to report dangerous consumer products to the CPSC.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite this knowledge, Gree USA continued to sell defective dehumidifiers in the United States for at least another six months. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Gree Companies delayed reporting knowledge of the fires to the CPSC for approximately six months and did not report the dehumidifier defects for approximately nine months. <\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, Gree Zhuhai recalled the defective dehumidifiers almost a year after learning about the products\u2019 dangerous defects.<\/span><\/p>\n

The United States Attorney\u2019s Office and the Consumer Protection Branch of the Justice Department\u2019s Civil Division\u00a0previously indicted<\/a>\u00a0Charley Loh, 64, of Arcadia, and Simon Chu, 67, of Chino Hills \u2013 respectively, the CEO and chief administrative officer of Gree USA \u2013 with felony CPSA and wire fraud charges for their alleged roles in the failure to report the defective dehumidifiers. <\/span><\/p>\n

Loh and Chu have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled for trial on November 7 in Los Angeles. The defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.<\/span><\/p>\n

Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case.<\/span><\/p>\n

This matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns of the Environmental and Community Safety Crimes Section, Assistant Director Allan Gordus, Trial Attorneys Natalie Sanders, and Maryann McGuire of the Justice Department\u2019s Consumer Protection Branch. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire, officials stated. Gree USA Inc. was sentenced this morning after…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11623,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3255],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-federal-court"],"yoast_head":"\nBusiness Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"690\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951\"},\"wordCount\":678,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Federal Court\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951\",\"name\":\"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=52951#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2015\\\/04\\\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg\",\"width\":690,\"height\":460},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"description\":\""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"width\":675,\"height\":231,\"caption\":\"American Justice Notebook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\",\"name\":\"Raul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raul\"},\"description\":\"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards","description":"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards","og_description":"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,","og_url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951","og_site_name":"American Justice Notebook","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook","article_published_time":"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":690,"height":460,"url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raul","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raul","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951"},"author":{"name":"Raul","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0"},"headline":"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards","datePublished":"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951"},"wordCount":678,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg","articleSection":["Federal Court"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951","name":"Business Fined for Selling Millions of Chinese-Made Dehumidifiers Bought in U.S. That Were Fire Hazards","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg","datePublished":"2023-04-25T00:59:18+00:00","dateModified":"2023-04-25T01:05:58+00:00","description":"The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) stated that millions of dehumidifiers it sold to domestic consumers were defective and could catch fire,","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=52951#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/consumer-Product-safety-commission.jpg","width":690,"height":460},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","name":"American Justice Notebook","description":""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization","name":"American Justice Notebook","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","width":675,"height":231,"caption":"American Justice Notebook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0","name":"Raul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Raul"},"description":"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.","sameAs":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52951"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52955,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52951\/revisions\/52955"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}