Dangerous Baby Clothing Seized by CBP

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 28, 2015

When importing into the United States an importer must make sure to comply with the customs laws for classification, valuation, invoicing, etc. But they also must make sure that they’re products are not harmful or in violations of the myriad of other regulations enforced by CBP at the border; whether they be FDA, Department of Agriculture, or the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recently, a shipment of baby clothing imported into the United States was seized by Customs because it was tainted with lead.

The story here:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Lewiston Bridge seized a shipment of baby clothing containing lead.

On March 19, CBP officers, working in collaboration with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, examined a shipment of children’s clothing manufactured in China. Preliminary findings resulted in the discovery of possible lead contamination. Samples were shipped to CPSC’s Product Testing and Evaluation Center who confirmed the clothing contained excessive amounts of lead on clothing components. The shipment was seized under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and will be destroyed.

“Our close working relationship with CPSC prevented extremely harmful clothing from entering commerce and potentially prevented some serious health issues,” said Joseph Draganac, acting port director for the Port of Buffalo.

If you run afoul of U.S. Customs and had your property seized, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide.

CBP Fines Agricultural Products Smugglers $98,000

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 22, 2015

When you heard that someone is a smuggler, or that they’ve smuggled something you typically think of smuggling drugs or other nefarious types of products. Most people don’t realize smuggling is essentially just another word for concealing. Concealing can be accomplished by outfitting a vehicle or container to hide products, by hiding illicit product with legitimate products in the same shipment, or by falsely declaring the contents of a shipment on an invoice or manifest.

In the story we quote below, the “shippers and freight forwarders employ[ed] fictitious shipper names and addresses, and provide[d] unrelated cargo descriptions” in an effort to smuggle the goods into the country. The goods were prohibited agricultural goods that contained unsafe foods or a risk of harboring invasive insect species. CBP takes this very seriously in the wake of the destructive effects posed by species that arrived in the United States via importation, like the Emerald ash border (see our article on Regulated Wood Packaging Violations)

In the story, U.S. Customs & Border Protection Agriculture Specialists conducted a special operation to “interrupt an extensive network of purposely mislabeled and high risk agriculture products coming from Hong Kong, China, India, and Saudi Arabia that were “en route to various locations throughout the United States, including ethnic restaurants, food stores, and private residences.”

From the story, which you can read in full HERE, that the purchases were largely made by consumers over the Internet.

Various concealment methods were discovered during this operation. CBPAS found meat smuggled in fish packets and tea bags, fruits inside sealed cookie bags, loose and packaged seeds within candy wrappers, and seeds in foil-lined bags in an effort to avoid x-ray detection.

The prohibited contraband included fresh plums and other fresh plant products, eggs, propagative plant materials including invasive species, and fresh and processed poultry and pork products coming from countries with known virulent disease outbreaks such as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD).

In total, this special operation yielded 1,104 inspected shipments, 73 shipments Returned to Origin (RTO), 198 Emergency Action Notifications (EANs), four mis-delivery penalties, and 98 mis-manifesting penalties netting a total of $98,000 in fines. Additionally, CBPAS destroyed over 900 pounds of contraband from 146 shipments and found 10 pest interceptions.

* * *

If you need help petitiong for the mitigation of penalties with customs you should contact our office by e-mail or call (734) 855-4999. We are experienced in defending customs penalties and preparing detailed and well argued petitions for mitigation of penalties or liquidated damages. You can also make use of our other articles, such as:

Customs penalties articles:

CBP Seizes $38 Million so far in FY 2015; $15k from Nigerian Traveler

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 16, 2015

In the story below, CBP officers in Houston seized more than $15,000 from a Nigerian traveler at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport who was leaving the country for Nigeria. The story gives us some new interesting figures; so far for this fiscal year Customs has seized nearly $38 million from people all across the nation. Last year they seized a total of $81 million, or $650,000 per day. That’s a lot of cash!

Now the story itself is unremarkable so I’m not sure why it merited a “news release” from Customs. This is the typical situation where we represent our currency seizure clients; when they make an inaccurate report to Customs. Here’s the text:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at George Bush Intercontinental Airport seized $15,841 from a traveler flying to Nigeria.

The 38-year old Nigerian man was waiting to board a flight to Lagos, Nigeria when CBP officers asked him if he was transporting more than $10,000 in monetary instruments. The traveler declared carrying $6,400 of his own and another $4,400 for a friend.

CBP officers advised the traveler that currency reporting requirements for anyone arriving and departing the U.S. must be declared on CBP Form 503 and the declaration must include all currency. The traveler was allowed to complete the required form but when officers verified the amount of currency, an additional $5041 and about $74 in Nigerian currency were discovered in the traveler’s backpack.

CBP officers found a total of $15,841 in U.S. currency which was seized for attempting to export currency exceeding $10,000 without filing a report. The Nigerian currency was returned to the traveler for humanitarian purposes as he was flying into that country.

“There is absolutely no limit to the amount of currency a traveler can bring into or take out of the United States,” said Houston CBP Port Director Charles Perez. “The only requirement is to declare amounts that reach or exceed $10,000.”

From Oct. 1, 2014 through Mar. 30, 2015, CBP officers nationwide seized nearly $38 million.Last fiscal year, officers averaged $650,117 in undeclared or illicit currency seizures per day totaling more than $81 million, nationwide.

Travelers can avoid seizure by declaring currency when the amount reaches $10,000. International travelers carrying more than $10,000 into or out of the United States must report the amount they are transporting or risk the currency’s seizure.

Currency declarations are made by completing FinCEN Form 105 and giving it to a CBP officer. Currency is not limited to U.S. currency but all negotiable monetary instruments including Traveler’s Checks, money orders and securities. A complete list of negotiable monetary instruments is available on FinCEN Form 105.

If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit.

Please read these other articles:

CBP Seizes Counterfeits from Traveler from Vietnam

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 14, 2015

U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a large amount of counterfeit clothing from a traveler that was arriving from Vietnam. To the best of my knowledge, it is a pretty rare occurrence when Customs encounters somebody who is traveling from overseas with a lot of counterfeit clothing.

Typically, counterfeit importations are just subject to seizure. In other words, the ‘penalty’ is loss of the goods through government seizure and forfeiture. However, Customs can impose monetary penalties under 19 USC 1526(f) on “any person who directs, assists … aids and abets [in] the importation of merchandise for sale or public distribution” once the property is seized.

By bringing in such a large quantity of counterfeits this person may have exposed themselves to a monetary penalty (to the tune of the MSRP of $22,000) because Customs may presume that the large quantities means that is must have been intended for sale or public distribution. It could be that it was meant for public sale or distribution, or it could just be that all these articles were intended for personal use and the buyer just got carried away with buying them. Here’s the story:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport seized 220 clothing items with a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of just over $22,000 found in a passenger’s checked luggage.

CBP officers conducted an inspection of a passenger arriving from Vietnam with six checked bags and discovered multiple clothing items in commercial quantities that appeared to be counterfeit, violating intellectual property rights.

The counterfeit items included 82 different Adidas products ranging from tank tops to windbreakers, 36 different Abercrombie items, 65 Chanel pieces, 12 Nike sweatshirts, 15 Ralph Lauren items, and an assortment of other name brand designers. The seized items did not appear to be of the quality consistent with legitimate goods as the items included unusual lettering and labeling and the markings on the clothing were not manufactured by the trademark holders.

“Counterfeit items even in small quantities is an IPR violation and adversely affects unsuspecting consumers, businesses and our economy,” said Port Director Cleatus Hunt. “This type of seizure typically occurs through other commercial shipping means, however, we will take any opportunity to intercept the smuggling of counterfeit goods. This seizure in the airport environment represents our commitment to enforcing priority trade issues.”

You might be facing penalties from customs for importing counterfeit merchandise. We can help. Typically, we recommended preparing and filing a petition, with the assistance of legal counsel, which argues persuasively for the substantial mitigation, or when the facts and law warrant it, cancellation of the penalty in full.

Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely (some history of our success is HERE).If you have had merchandise seized by customs because they allege it is counterfeit and contains trademark violations and/or have a received a notice of penalty for importing alleged counterfeits or for making an importation contrary to law, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist petitions for customs penalties and seizures around the country, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places. Please read these other articles:

Chinese Honey Seized in Houston for Antidumping Duty Evasion

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 10, 2015

We previously wrote about the dangers of not knowing your supply chain, conducting due diligence, and how inadvertently buying goods you have no idea are subjecting to antidumping duties could get you into a mess of trouble and commercial penalties under 19 USC 1592.

At Channel 6 News in Houston, via the Associated Press, is an interesting story about antidumping duty evasion on honey that originates from China but was made it’s way through Latvia, Mexico, and ultimately, through the Port of Houston at the U.S. Border. Here is the interest party of the story, and it has to do with befuddlement at why Houston has become the focal point of illegal Chinese honey imports into the U.S.:

Before the latest seizures, federal agents disrupted a network of honey importers who managed to evade $180 million in antidumping duties, which are penalties placed on imports that are priced at less than fair value. The penalty is imposed top provide relief to domestic industries that may be hurt by the low import values.

According to Richard Halverson, with Homeland Security’s Houston investigations unit, the city has become a focal point for illegal honey imports, but officials are not sure why.

You can read the rest HERE. Usually people smuggle drugs, money, gold, jewelry, and other things we consider valuable. Honey is not in that category. But, the smuggling here dealt with avoiding paying extra duties. That gets the product in cheaper than competition. But how much duty savings is your freedom, or non-liability for 592 penalties worth?

If you need help conducting due diligence, or face duty or penalty liability with customs you should contact our office by e-mail or call (734) 855-4999. We are experienced in defending customs 592 penalties, disclosing potential violations through prior disclosures, responding to notices of penalties, and preparing detailed and well argued petitions for mitigation of penalties or liquidated damages. You can also make use of our other articles, such as:

Customs 592 penalties articles:

CBP Seizes $1.2B in counterfeits in FY 2014

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 8, 2015

In addition to currency seizures and drug seizures, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seizes counterfeit merchandise imported into the United States. CBP considers counterfeit interception to be a priority trade issue. Customs has released their annual statistics for 2014 wherein they breakdown what they seized throughout the past fiscal year. The report includes the total volume of seizures, value, and countries from which the counterfeit goods were exported. The summary from Customs is repeated below:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) today announced the fiscal year 2014 results of an aggressive enforcement program to protect the United States from counterfeit and pirated goods. CBP and HSI are the components within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR).

“Protecting intellectual property rights is a critical part of CBP’s trade enforcement mission and critical to protecting American consumers,” said Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “In 2014, strong partnerships with our federal enforcement counterparts, effective targeting of high risk shipments and frontline interceptions of cargo at America’s ports of entry produced more than 23,000 seizures of fake products worth an estimated $1.2 billion that could have cheated or threatened the health of American consumers.”

[ . . . ]

In fiscal year 2014, there were 23,140 intellectual property rights seizures with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price or MSRP of $1.2 billion, the value of the goods had they been genuine. In addition, 144 shipments of circumvention devices were seized for violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. CBP also enforced 44 exclusion orders in fiscal year 2014. Since 2007, CBP has identified intellectual property rights enforcement as a priority trade mission. Although IPR seizures declined slightly in 2014 from 2013, CBP recorded its third busiest year for seizures since 2005.

[ . . . ]

Wearing apparel and accessories continue to be the number one commodity classification based on number of seizures with 7,922 seizures or 28 percent. Watches and jewelry are the largest commodity classification by value with an estimated MSRP of $375 million or 31 percent.

The People’s Republic of China remains the primary source economy for counterfeit and pirated goods seized with a total value of $772 million, representing 63 percent of all IPR seizures by MSRP. Hong Kong ranks second with $310 million or 25 percent.

Tactical interagency collaboration with the HSI-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) resulted in 683 arrests, with 454 indictments and 461 convictions.

CBP JFK Seizes $700k in Counterfeit Monetary Instruments

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on April 2, 2015

Just the other day we blogged about a counterfeit currency seizure at an express cargo facility at JFK Airport. Today, there is another story which involves counterfeit bank checks and money orders (also falling under the “monetary instrument” category).

In this instance, they were from the Ivory Coast and were transmitted in an envelope labeled “Documents.” What follows is an excerpt:

Counterfeit Monetary Instruments

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at John F. Kennedy International seized counterfeit monetary instruments at an express cargo facility.

On March 27, CBP officers seized counterfeit bank checks and money orders arriving from Cote D’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) totaling a little more than $700,000.

CBP officers examined a shipment described as “Documents” finding one envelope inside containing bank money orders and checks labeled Chase, Bank of America and Western Federal Credit Union in the denominations of $965, $985 and $2,920. A review of the bank money orders and checks lacked the necessary security features consistent with those of legitimate monetary instruments.

A combined 516 bank money orders and checks were counted with a total value of $732,585.00.

“CBP Officers are protecting the American public from various dangers on a daily basis,” said Robert E. Perez, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations. “The interception of these counterfeit bank checks in a one-week period is a direct reflection of the vigilance and commitment to mission success by our CBP Officers daily.”

No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing.

If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:

CBP Seizes Counterfeit Money in Ecuadoran Import

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 31, 2015

This story does not involve a customs currency seizure because counterfeit bills are not considered a monetary instrument under the definitions applicable to 31 USC 5316, but they do present their own problems. Obviously, counterfeit currency is illegal in its own right, whether or not it has been reported to Customs or not. In this instance, the counterfeit bills were not found on an arriving traveller who was asked to make a report about the currency he was transporting, but was found hidden in an inbound shipment from Ecuador. The full story is HERE, and what follows is an excerpt:

Counterfeit Currency Seized

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at John F. Kennedy’s International express cargo facility seized $65,200 dollars in counterfeit 100 dollar bills. On March 21, CBP officers found $65,200.00 counterfeit $100 U. S. bills concealed in place mats and a shoe bag from Ecuador. A total of $65,200 (652 – $100.00 notes) of counterfeit U. S. currency was seized; this investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made yet.

If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles:

CBP Seizes $430k of Counterfeit/Smuggled Perfume in Champlain

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 27, 2015

Here is an interesting counterfeit seizure story out of Champlain, New York, from CBP. The officers there intercepted a truckload of perfume with “suspicious labeling.”

From the picture produced with the news release it appears the importer attempted to disguise the counterfeit perfume bottles with labels that can easily be peeled off. In the picture, it appears the Beauty Woman” label was once on top of and concealing the label that says “Miss Dior Cherie.” This is likely going to result in not only a seizure and penalty for violations of the trademark laws, but also for smuggling; because by mislabeling the perfume the importer concealed the counterfeit nature of the product.

This importer, if he did this intentionally, is too clever by half. I can see an argument that it was not known the perfume bore a counterfeit label underneath the upper label, but in the absence of proof of active measures to prove that steps were taken by the importer to ensure that counterfeits were not being imported, that’s going to be a tough sell to Customs.

CHAMPLAIN, N.Y. – On March 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Champlain port of entry seized over $430,000 in counterfeit perfume.

On February 21, CBP officers encountered a tractor trailer hauling a commodity listed as perfume. Initial review of the shipment revealed suspicious labeling and packaging consistent with counterfeit goods. Further review by CBP import specialists confirmed the goods were counterfeit and violated trademarks from the following manufacturers: GUCCI, Calvin Klein, Miss Dior, Juicy Couture, Ralph Lauren, and Carolina Herrera.

The shipment was seized for bearing marks identical with or substantially indistinguishable from trademarks.

The seizure was a result of a joint effort with Immigration and Customs Enforcement HSI Special Agents.

Like we have explained previously, this importer stands to face a hefty penalty — around $500,000 — for this customs counterfeit seizure. Importing counterfeit items into the United States is a very serious matter. Once forfeiture is perfected, the person who caused the importation will probably receive a notice of penalty from U.S. Custom & Border Protection for a monetary penalty equivalent of the value of the products if they were real (MSRP).

The importer will have a chance to respond to customs’ notice of penalty with the Fines, Penalties, and Forfeitures office by filing a petition for mitigation and ask customs to reduce the penalty based on the presence of certain mitigating factors that customs particularly looks for. Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely.

If the person fails to pay the penalty, the government can bring a lawsuit in federal district court to recover the penalty in the form of a judgment, after which point the government can lien property, garnish bank accounts, and seize property. We can help you if you are facing penalties from customs for importing counterfeit trademarked merchandise. Great Lakes Customs Law has been very successful in getting these kinds of penalties reduced and, sometimes, even eliminated entirely (some history of our success is HERE).

Call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or CONTACT US HERE. We are able to assist petitions for customs penalties and seizures around the country, including Champlain, Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places. Consult a customs lawyer who is well acquainted with the laws enforced by the customs service and who can judge the legality of the transaction, by even getting a prospective ruling from customs in advance.

Please read these customs counterfeit seizure articles:

US CBP Seizes $10.6M Cash in Caribbean in FY 2014

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on March 24, 2015

Last year, U.S. Customs & Border Protection — CBP — in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands seized $10.6 million dollars in unreported currency, smuggled bulk cash, or unlawful currency structuring violations. Last year I called that an overwhelming amount of seized currency.

Most of these customs currency seizures occur at airports, ferry crossings, etc. CBP for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands reported their annual fiscal year statistics for 2014 and this currency seizure number has more than doubled. That is more than overwhelming, it is tremendous… the story also compares currency seizures with those in California, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. All areas in which drug smuggling is pervasive.

In Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, CBP officers and agents seized over 51,043 pounds of narcotics with an estimated street value of approximately 650 million and seized approximately $10.6 million in unreported currency in FY 2014, which runs from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014.

But later the story says:

Furthermore, $8.4 million of currency interdictions were reported and over 80 firearms were seized.

$8.4M or $10.6M? Who’s counting over there?! And this is the same government that seizes currency for any mis-report who can’t get their facts straight for their news releases.

If you have had cash seized by customs and are contemplating what to do next, please make use of the other information available on this website or call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs around the country, including Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and many other places, and not just locally in Detroit. Please read these other articles: