Category: US Department of Justice

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Evolutions Flooring Inc. (Evolutions), a South San Francisco, California-based importer of multilayered wood flooring, and its owners, Mengya Lin and Jin Qian, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading customs duties on imports of multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The settlement is based on Evolutions’ and its owners’ ability to pay.

“Import duties provide an important source of government revenue and level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers against their global competitors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov M. Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets, including by evading the duties owed on goods imported into this country from China.” 

To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping and countervailing duties assessed by the Department of Commerce and Section 301 duties imposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost, while countervailing duties offset foreign government subsidies. Section 301 duties similarly protect U.S. industry by imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in other unreasonable acts that burden U.S. commerce. During the relevant time period, PRC-manufactured multilayered wood flooring products were subject to antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties.

The settlement resolves allegations that Evolutions, at the direction of Lin and Qian, knowingly and improperly evaded customs duties, including antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties, on multilayered wood flooring manufactured in the PRC that Evolutions imported between Sept. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2022. Among other things, the United States alleged that Evolutions caused false information to be submitted to CBP regarding the identity of the manufacturers and country of origin of the imported multilayered wood flooring.

“The outcome of this case demonstrates that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and its CBP partners will continue to safeguard the nation’s economic well-being,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally for the Central District of California. “Fraud in international commerce deprives the United States of vital revenue and creates an unfair advantage over businesses that operate legitimately. The settlement sends a message that we will not stand aside when companies try to cheat the system.”

“The team at CBP was instrumental in providing expertise and logistical support to this investigation,” said Director of Field Operations Cheryl M. Davies of the CBP Los Angeles Field Office. “Through its efforts, which included a site visit to factories in Thailand, review of identified shipments by CBP experts on multilayered wood flooring, an analysis of import records and data by Office of Trade Regulatory Audit, and involvement in interviews with witnesses, CBP contributed to a successful outcome in this matter.”

The settlement with Evolutions and its owners resolves a lawsuit filed by Urban Global LLC under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California and is captioned United States ex rel. Urban Global LLC v. Struxtur Inc. et al., No. CV20-7217 (C.D. Cal.). As part of today’s resolution, relator Urban Global LLC will receive approximately $1,215,000 of the settlement proceeds.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel, West Region and Trade Regulatory Audit and the Center of Excellence and Expertise for Industrial and Manufacturing Materials within CBP’s Office of Trade.

Senior Trial Counsel Christelle Klovers of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Desmond Jui for the Central District of California handled the case. 

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

Evolutions Flooring Inc. (Evolutions), a South San Francisco, California-based importer of multilayered wood flooring, and its owners, Mengya Lin and Jin Qian, have agreed to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading customs duties on imports of multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The settlement is based on Evolutions’ and its owners’ ability to pay.

“Import duties provide an important source of government revenue and level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers against their global competitors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov M. Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets, including by evading the duties owed on goods imported into this country from China.” 

To enter goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the value of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and the amount of duties owed. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) collects applicable duties, including antidumping and countervailing duties assessed by the Department of Commerce and Section 301 duties imposed by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. Antidumping duties protect against foreign companies “dumping” products on U.S. markets at prices below cost, while countervailing duties offset foreign government subsidies. Section 301 duties similarly protect U.S. industry by imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in other unreasonable acts that burden U.S. commerce. During the relevant time period, PRC-manufactured multilayered wood flooring products were subject to antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties.

The settlement resolves allegations that Evolutions, at the direction of Lin and Qian, knowingly and improperly evaded customs duties, including antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties, on multilayered wood flooring manufactured in the PRC that Evolutions imported between Sept. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2022. Among other things, the United States alleged that Evolutions caused false information to be submitted to CBP regarding the identity of the manufacturers and country of origin of the imported multilayered wood flooring.

“The outcome of this case demonstrates that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California and its CBP partners will continue to safeguard the nation’s economic well-being,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally for the Central District of California. “Fraud in international commerce deprives the United States of vital revenue and creates an unfair advantage over businesses that operate legitimately. The settlement sends a message that we will not stand aside when companies try to cheat the system.”

“The team at CBP was instrumental in providing expertise and logistical support to this investigation,” said Director of Field Operations Cheryl M. Davies of the CBP Los Angeles Field Office. “Through its efforts, which included a site visit to factories in Thailand, review of identified shipments by CBP experts on multilayered wood flooring, an analysis of import records and data by Office of Trade Regulatory Audit, and involvement in interviews with witnesses, CBP contributed to a successful outcome in this matter.”

The settlement with Evolutions and its owners resolves a lawsuit filed by Urban Global LLC under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The civil lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California and is captioned United States ex rel. Urban Global LLC v. Struxtur Inc. et al., No. CV20-7217 (C.D. Cal.). As part of today’s resolution, relator Urban Global LLC will receive approximately $1,215,000 of the settlement proceeds.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, with assistance from CBP’s Office of Chief Counsel, West Region and Trade Regulatory Audit and the Center of Excellence and Expertise for Industrial and Manufacturing Materials within CBP’s Office of Trade.

Senior Trial Counsel Christelle Klovers of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Desmond Jui for the Central District of California handled the case. 

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, Special Master Mary Patrice Brown announced that she will authorize sixth-round payments for all eligible claims in the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund (the Fund) by Jan. 1, 2026. The Fund, which continues to collect deposits, anticipates that the sixth distribution will be at least $2 billion. The amounts available for this distribution come from qualifying federal enforcement actions and the termination of the Beirut barracks / Khobar Tower reserve fund.

“It is a privilege for the Criminal Division to administer the United States Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund, which has provided more than $7 billion to victims of state sponsored terrorism since its founding,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s announcement of a distribution of at least $2 billion to victims in 2026 is the largest general distribution in the Fund’s history and will make a significant difference in victims’ lives. Victims are at the heart of everything we do at the Criminal Division, and we are proud to support them through our administration of the Fund.”

The Fund was established by Congress and is administered by the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), under the leadership of the Fund’s Special Master. To date, the Fund has paid more than $7 billion to thousands of victims of state sponsored terrorism and their families in five rounds of distributions and two rounds of lump-sum catch-up payments. The anticipated distribution announced today is in addition to these prior distributions. Apart from an initial appropriation of approximately $1 billion from Congress and additional congressional appropriations for lump-sum catch-up payments, funds available for distribution come from certain Justice Department prosecutions and cases and other United States government enforcement actions.

The Fund continues to accept applications from potential new claimants. As the Special Master announced, the deadline for new claimants to submit applications to be considered for sixth-round payments is June 1. Claimants who were eligible for payments in prior rounds remain eligible for the sixth distribution and should not complete new applications.

More information about the Fund’s compensation to victims of state sponsored terrorism is available on the Fund’s website at www.usvsst.com, including application materials, frequently asked questions, and publications.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma unsealed a grand jury indictment recently charging an Oklahoma man with violations of the dog fighting prohibitions of the federal Animal Welfare Act.

Leshon Eugene Johnson, of Broken Arrow, made his initial appearance in court last week. He is charged with possessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture and for selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case.

“Animal abuse is cruel, depraved, and deserves severe punishment,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and will remain committed to protecting innocent animals from those who would do them harm.”

“The FBI will not tolerate criminals that harm innocent animals for their twisted form of entertainment,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI views animal cruelty investigations as a precursor to larger, organized crime efforts, similar to trafficking and homicides. This is yet another push in the FBI’s crackdown of violent offenders harming our most innocent.”

“Dog fighting is illegal, and courts have upheld its prosecution time and again,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “This strategic prosecution of an alleged repeat offender led to the seizure of 190 dogs destined for a cruel end. It disrupts a major source of dogs used in other dog fighting ventures.”

“Dog fighting is a cruel, blood-thirsty venture, not a legitimate business or sporting activity,” said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Wilson for the Eastern District of Oklahoma. “I applaud the investigative work of the FBI and the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division in detecting and dismantling breeding operations which only serve to propagate this deplorable conduct.”

According to court documents, Johnson ran a dog fighting operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels” in both Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. He previously ran “Krazyside Kennels” also out of Oklahoma, which led to his guilty plea on state animal fighting charges in 2004. Johnson selectively bred “champion” and “grand champion” fighting dogs — dogs that have respectively won three or five fights — to produce offspring with fighting traits and abilities desired by him and others for use in dog fights. Johnson marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels “bloodline” into their own dog fighting operations. His trafficking of fighting dogs to other dog fighters across the country contributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry and allowed Johnson to profit financially.

Under federal law, it is illegal to fight dogs in a venture that effects interstate commerce and to possess, train, transport, deliver, sell, purchase, or receive dogs for fighting purposes.

If convicted, Johnson faces a maximum penalty on each count of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The FBI’s Shreveport Resident Agency office is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Sarah Brown and Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Howanitz for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari by plaintiffs in Juliana v. United States, a case the Justice Department has consistently defended across three presidential administrations.

The case, filed in 2015, sought to have courts force the government to implement more stringent, remedial measures related to climate change. The U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon agreed to hear the case. The Justice Department moved to dismiss and sought an interlocutory appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The Ninth Circuit remanded the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss. The district court accepted an amended complaint, and the circuit court again instructed for the case to be dismissed. The plaintiffs then filed a petition for certiorari in the Supreme Court.

“For nearly a decade, lawyers for the plaintiffs in the Juliana case have tied up the United States in litigation, persisting even after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals twice instructed the case to be dismissed because the plaintiffs lack Article III standing,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “The U.S. Supreme Court’s cert denial brings this long saga to a conclusion. Through ENRD’s work, the Justice Department is enforcing our nation’s environmental laws and safeguarding America’s air, water, and natural resources. Cases like Juliana distract from those enforcement efforts.”