WASHINGTON, D.C. — Patio furniture maker Grosfillex Inc. has agreed to pay $4.9 million to resolve allegations it violated the False Claims Act by evading import duties on aluminum components from China, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Thursday.
Federal authorities accused the Pennsylvania-based company of submitting false customs forms to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) on extruded aluminum parts imported from the People’s Republic of China.
According to the government, Grosfillex misrepresented certain aluminum parts as not being subject to AD/CVD and disguised other shipments as furniture “kits” to conceal their origin and classification. In some cases, the company allegedly failed to update its customs filings even after learning that its previous submissions were inaccurate.
“Antidumping and countervailing duties protect American companies from unfair subsidies and trade practices that harm domestic industries,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.
The settlement resolves claims brought by whistleblower Edward Wisner, a former Grosfillex employee, who filed a lawsuit under the False Claims Act. He will receive $962,662.74 as his share of the government’s recovery.
The investigation was led by the Justice Department’s Commercial Litigation Branch and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, with support from CBP and Homeland Security Investigations.
Grosfillex did not admit liability as part of the settlement.
A whistleblower lawsuit led to a multimillion-dollar settlement after Grosfillex was accused of masking Chinese aluminum parts to dodge U.S. import duties.
