Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC, and four affiliated warehousing companies agreed to pay nearly $550 million to resolve allegations they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly evading antidumping and countervailing duties owed on aluminum extrusions imported from China.
The California-based companies knowingly made false statements on customs forms, misrepresenting over 2.2 million aluminum extrusions as finished merchandise not subject to duties when they were actually just spot-welded together to appear as pallets, Wednesday’s Justice Department announcement said. There were no actual customers for these “pallets” between 2011 and 2014.
The settlement resolves civil lawsuits filed by whistleblowers ...