WASHINGTON (Legal Newsline) — The U.S. Department of Justice announced Jan. 21 that Basset Mirror Company, a home furnishings business based in Virginia, will pay $10.5 million after allegations of making false statements on customs duties declarations in violation of the False Claims Act.
“Those who import and sell foreign-made goods in the United States must comply with the laws meant to protect domestic companies and American workers from illegal foreign trade practices,” said Chad A. Readler, acting assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Division, in a news release. “The Department of Justice will pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets by evading the duties owed on goods imported into this country.”
According to the Justice Department, Basset Mirror avoided anti-dumping duties owed on wooden bedroom furniture imported from the People’s Republic of China between January 2009 and February 2014. The Justice Department noted that anti-dumping regulations exist to protect the U.S. market from foreign companies “dumping their products” into the country at low costs.
“This office will not tolerate anyone who seeks to stack the deck against American workers and products,” said U.S. attorney Bobby L. Christine for the Southern District of Georgia. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners, as well as our colleagues in the Civil Division, to pursue those who believe that their own profit justifies evasion of federal anti-dumping duties.”