Blowing the Whistle on Tariff Dodgers
Posted 04/23/18
Archive
Constantine Cannon Announces a $900,000 Whistleblower Settlement With Luxury UK e-Retailer
Posted 02/14/18
Constantine Cannon LLP is pleased to announce a more than $900,000 settlement on behalf of its whistleblower client in a lawsuit against Pure Collection Ltd. Pure Collection is a Harrogate, England-based e-retailer of luxury cashmere and apparel goods. The United States Government announced the settlement agreement yesterday with Pure Collection and the e-retailer's acting CEO, Samantha Harrison. The company and...
Constantine Cannon Partner Mary Inman Will Be a Guest Speaker for the Federal Bar Association's 2018 Fashion Law Conference
Posted 01/24/18
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
On Friday, February 9, at 1:30 PM Eastern, Partner Mary Inman will be speaking as a special guest at the Federal Bar Association’s Fashion Law Conference in New York City. Ms. Inman will speak about how whistleblowers have exposed retailers' schemes to evade customs duties and other financial frauds. Click the here for more and to register for the event!
Bassett Mirror Company Will Pay $10.5M to Settle Whistleblower’s Customs Duties FCA Allegations
Posted 01/17/18
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Bassett Mirror Company, a Virginia-based home furnishings company, has agreed to pay the United States $10.5 million to resolve allegations it evaded antidumping duties on wooden bedroom furniture imported from the People’s Republic of China over a five year period. Antidumping duties level the playing field for U.S. companies by protecting against foreign companies...
U.S. Government Joins Constantine Cannon Case Brought By U.K. Whistleblower against British Retailer for Customs Fraud
Posted 09/8/17
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
Constantine Cannon LLP is pleased to announce that the U.S. Government has intervened in its client's whistleblower case against Pure Collection Ltd., a Harrogate, England-based e-retailer of luxury cashmere and apparel. The Government also brought claims against Pure's current acting CEO, Samantha Harrison. The whistleblower lawsuit, among one of the first whistleblower cases...
DOJ Catch of the Week -- Import Merchandising Concepts
Posted 05/5/17
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Import Merchandising Concepts L.P. On Monday, the Texas-based importer (and two affiliated individuals) agreed to pay $275,000 to settle charges of violating the False Claims Act by evading customs duties on imports of wooden bedroom furniture from China. The company imports, among other things, bedroom furniture...
DOJ Intervenes in Whistleblower-Initiated Customs Fraud Case (and, Likely Unintentionally, Potential Family Feud)
Posted 09/28/16
The Department of Justice’s (DOJ) intervention last week in a whistleblower-initiated False Claims Act case is going to make for an awkward holiday season for at least one family. The case, US ex rel. Xing Wei v. Yingshun Garments, Inc. et al, was filed in January 2013 in the Southern District of New York and alleges a scheme to avoid import duties on women’s clothing manufactured in China and sold to retailers in...
DOJ Catch of the Week -- Kilgore Flares
Posted 04/1/16
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to Tennessee-based defense contractor Kilgore Flares Company. On Monday, the company and one of its subcontractors, New York-based ESM Group Inc., agreed to pay $8 million to resolve charges they violated the False Claims Act by selling defective infrared countermeasure flares to the U.S. Army and, for ESM, knowingly...
DOJ Catch Of The Week -- Ameri-Source
Posted 02/26/16
By the C|C Whistleblower Lawyer Team
This week's Department of Justice "Catch of the Week" goes to the Pennsylvania-based Ameri-Source importer companies -- Ameri-Source International Inc., Ameri-Source Specialty Products Inc., Ameri-Source Holdings Inc. -- their owners, Ajay Goel and Thomas Diener, and the related importer, SMC Machining LLC, incorporated at Goel’s direction and formerly owned by his wife. On...