Tag: customs lawyer

Importer Allegedly Undervalues Shoe Imports and Gets Criminally Charged

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 9, 2014

Imports into the United States must be properly classified and valued. Classification has to do with categorizing them on the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) in an 8 digit tariff code, and a 2 digit statistical suffix; valuation has to do with reporting the dutiable value of the merchandise which is usually the amount paid for the merchandise, plus certain other charges. Classification and valuation are bedrock principles of customs compliance.

In this vein, I was alerted to a story about about a company that sells shoes/footwear which was, allegedly, reporting incorrect values to customs in order to save on duties. It looks like the company has been making its way in the courts for other reasons to, including trademark and breach of contract disputes. This story illustrates the importance of verify correct classification and valuation of merchandise; this can easily be done by requesting a prospective ruling from customs.

A federal grand jury in Sacramento on Thursday charged Romeo with evading about $5.6 million in customs duties. The company imports the popular Bearpaw brand of shearling slippers and boots and sells them nationally.

. . .

“Tom has been fully cooperating with customs over the past several years,” said attorney Malcolm Segal, with Segal & Associates PC in Sacramento.

…

Romeo has deposited more than $4 million with U.S. Customs while the issue remains unsettled, Segal said.

Segal said the dispute arises from a technical issue over whether the shoes are completed products or component parts. The duties are different depending on how the shoes are classified.

Romeo owns and operates Romeo & Juliette Inc., a company that imports shoes and boots made in China and distributed under the brand names Bearpaw and Attix. The company sells to many national retailers.

The indictment alleges that from 1994 through 2011 Romeo had employees and others create false invoices that undervalued footwear he imported from China.

Source: Sacramento Business Journal. It sounds as though Romeo & Juliette filed a prior disclosure based on their attorney’s statement that $4 million was deposited with customs while it considers if it owes any money. That’s a smart move. Unfortunately, violations of the customs laws often involve criminal consequences in addition to severe civil penalties. It appears in vogue for Customs to pursue criminal charges for import violations: In August we posted analysis of a story of smugglers circumventing anti-dumping duties by transshipping aluminum extrusions from China to Malayasia and importing them via false documentation in San Juan.

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:

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U.S. Customs Seizes $69,000 in Cash at Preclearance Station from Traveler

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on December 4, 2014

Did you know U.S. Customs & Border Protection has preclearance stations in numerous foreign countries (link)? Did you know that if you fail to report currency at these preclearance stations it will be seized from you just as though you were going through U.S. Customs on U.S. soil? It’s apparently true, and here’s the story of a lady who had almost $70,000 seized for failure to report currency in excess of $10,000 while leaving the Bahamas destined for Fort Meyers, Florida.

NASSAU, Bahamas—U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Nassau Preclearance facility discovered $69,739 in undeclared U.S. currency inside a traveler’s carry-on and checked luggage. The Royal Bahamas Police Force took custody of the traveler and the currency.

On Nov. 24, CBP officers encountered a 51-year-old female U.S. citizen traveling to Fort Myers, Florida. The subject was referred for a secondary baggage exam after Nassau Airport Authority Security alerted to a large sum of money inside a piece of checked luggage. During the baggage exam, CBP officers discovered several envelopes addressed to multiple people containing U.S. currency. The subject only reported $900 on her declaration and when questioned reaffirmed to CBP officers that she was traveling with less than $10,000. The traveler failed to formally report the money to CBP resulting in the seizure of the currency.

“This seizure is an excellent example of the cooperative working relationship U.S. Customs and Border Protection has with Nassau Airport Authority Security, who notified CBP of an anomaly in a bag,” said Robert Allen Smith, area port director for Nassau Preclearance. “CBP officers provided the traveler with multiple opportunities to accurately report all currency in her possession; however, she failed to comply with the reporting requirements. The easiest way for travelers to hold on to their currency is to truthfully report it all to a CBP officer.”

Individuals are permitted to carry any amount of currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States. However, if the quantity is $10,000 or higher, they must formally report the currency to CBP. Failure to report may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest.

It’s a somewhat intriguing for this customs lawyer, because 31 USC § 5316 requires that a “person . . . shall file a report . . . when the person . . . knowingly transports, is about to transport, or has transported, monetary instruments of more than $10,000 at one time . . . to a place in the United States from or through a place outside the United States”. The implementing regulation, 31 CFR § 1010.306, states that the report shall be filed “at the time of entry into the United States or at the time of departure . . . from the United States, unless otherwise specified . . . .” At the time the regulation was drafted I don’t think the preclearance stations were contemplated. Thus, there might be a thin argument that there was no failure to report… but this is just me shooting from the hip. I haven’t done any time researching the issue and it should not be relied on anyone as legal advice.

Our customs law firm handles currency/money seizures made by customs in Detroit and around the country; call (734) 855-4999 to consult with a customs lawyer today (you can read our popular page on Responding to a Customs Money Seizure HERE).If you have had money seized by Detroit CBP/customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page (see our case results here). We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

Please read these other articles customs currency seizures:

U.S. Customs Seizes Bulk Cash from 23 y/o US Citizen

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 30, 2014

In a currency seizure reported by U.S. Customs, customs seized over $250k 23 year old man headed into Mexico. No mention of an arrest, but just an ongoing investigation. This seizure is probably based on both bulk cash smuggling and failure to report. Both carry criminal consequences. Customs also gets the law wrong, as we explained below, which is a great reason to hire a lawyer for your customs money seizure case. Let’s have a look at the always-interesting-facts in this currency seizure story to see what the person did wrong that caused this encounter to end up as another customs airport money seizure:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound enforcement operations at the Brownsville Port of Entry seized $259,750 in bulk U.S. currency. [ . . . ] Stacks of varying denominations totaling $259,750 in undeclared currency seized by CBP officers and agents recently at Brownsville Port of Entry.

On Nov. 24, CBP officers working outbound enforcement operations at the Gateway International Bridge came in contact with a silver 2007 Volkswagen Jetta as it attempted to exit the United States and enter Mexico. The driver, a 23-year-old United States citizen from Brownsville, Texas was referred to secondary for further inspection. In secondary, a search of the Jetta resulted in the discovery of two packages of bulk U.S. currency hidden within the vehicle. CBP officers seized the currency the vehicle and the case had been referred to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for further investigation. [ . . . ]

It is not a crime to carry more than $10,000, but it is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling $10,000 or more to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest. An individual may petition for the return of currency seized by CBP officers, but the petitioner must prove that the source and intended use of the currency was legitimate.

If this guy could prove the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this customs cash seizure was completely avoidable. Near the bottom of this story customs states that the law requires that a person file a formal report of “$10,000 or higher” into or out of the United States. That is incorrect. The law requires reports of more than $10,000. If even customs doesn’t know the law, you are better of hiring an attorney.

Please read these other articles customs currency seizures:

“Strapped” for Cash? U.S. Customs Will Seize It!

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on November 11, 2014

In a currency seizure reported by U.S. Customs, customs seized $50,000 from a 25 year old man headed into Mexico and arrested him; although not specifically stated in the story, the money was probably arrested for bulk cash smuggling and failure to report, which carries with it criminal consequences. If this guy could prove the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this customs cash seizure was completely avoidable. Our customs law firm handles currency/money seizures made by customs in Detroit and around the country; call (734) 855-4999 to consult with a customs lawyer today (you can read our popular page on Responding to a Customs Money Seizure HERE).

Here are the details from customs:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the San Ysidro port of entry Wednesday discovered $51,300 in unreported U.S. currency concealed underneath the clothing of a man traveling to Mexico on foot.

The incident occurred on November 4, at about 11:20 a.m., when CBP officers were conducting southbound inspections of travelers heading to Mexico through the San Ysidro port of entry. Officers targeted a 25-year-old male U.S. citizen, and escorted him to a secure area for further examination.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers inspecting travelers walking south into Mexico at the San Ysidro port of entry found these bundles of cash strapped (pictured at right) to a 25-year-old male U.S. citizen.During the inspection, a CBP currency and firearms detector dog alerted to the man, leading officers to the discovery of eleven wrapped bundles of U.S. currency concealed underneath layers of his clothing.

The man, a resident of Hacienda Heights, California, was arrested and turned over to the custody of Homeland Security Investigations agents. He was later transported to the Metropolitan Correctional Center to await criminal arraignment. CBP seized the money.

It is a federal offense not to declare currency or monetary instruments totaling more than $10,000 to a CBP officer upon entry or exit from the U.S. or to conceal it with intent to evade reporting requirements. Failure to declare may result in seizure of the currency and/or arrest.

The fact that he was arrested might (but not necessarily does) indicate that customs believed he was transporting the money for some illegal purpose beyond just the smuggling/failure to report violation itself. Apparently the cash wasn’t wrapped good enough to get past the detetction dog‘s might impressive sense of smell.

If you have had money seized by Detroit CBP/customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page (see our case results here). We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Orlando.

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CBP Seizure of $27k at Philadelphia Airport

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 30, 2014

“Avoid an airport customs money seizure by telling the truth.” That should be the headline of this Philadelphia CBP news release which again proves the importance of correctly declaring and reporting cash and monetary instruments valued at over $10,000 being transported into or out of the United States. Let’s have a look at the always-interesting-facts in this currency seizure story to see what the person did wrong that caused this encounter to end up as another customs airport money seizure:

PHILADELPHIA — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $27,427 from a Canadian woman for violating federal currency reporting regulations Sept. 21 at Philadelphia International Airport.

The woman, whose name is not being released because she was not criminally charged, arrived from Madrid, Spain en route to Canada. The woman reported multiple times, verbally and in writing, that she possessed 8,000 Euros. During a baggage examination, CBP officers discovered 20,975 Euros ($26,911 U.S. equivalency), 270 Canadian dollars ($246 U.S. equivalency) and $516 in U.S. dollars for a combined $27,673 in equivalent U.S. dollars. CBP seized $27,427 and returned the Canadian currency to the woman for humanitarian purposes.

There is no limit to how much currency travelers may bring to, or take from the U.S.; however, federal law requires travelers to report to CBP amounts exceeding $10,000 in U.S. dollars or equivalent foreign currency. Travelers who refuse to comply with federal currency reporting requirements run the risk of having their currency seized, and may potentially face criminal charges.

“U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers permitted this traveler multiple opportunities to truthfully report all currency in her possession. Hopefully, this is a lesson to all travelers that the easiest way to hold on to their currency is to truthfully report it all to a CBP officer,” said Susan Stranieri, CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Philadelphia.

So you can see the cause of this was lying or not knowing how much you were transporting, and sticking to your story. If you don’t know how much you are transporting, you should ask the officer to let you count it. But… if you have had money seized by customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 or CONTACT US BY CLICKING HERE to speak to a customs lawyer. We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Please read these other articles about money seizures by customs:

CBP Stolen Vehicle Seizure of Classic Jaguar

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 23, 2014

A CBP stolen vehicle seizure story proves that customs law isn’t always about currency seizures, product classification, country of origin marking, and trademark infringement. Sometime’s it’s about far less probable occurrences, like this interesting story from customs. The story is similar to one that previously occurred in the Port of Detroit about a 1965 VW Bug that was being exported, which was allegedly stolen at some point in the distant past. I share this story because it’s interesting and allows me to share with the public some of CBP’s own policy for stolen vehicle seizures.

CBP probably seized these vehicles for violations 19 USC 1627a, which covers the knowing exportation of certain stolen vehicles which also carries a $10,000 penalty under 19 CFR 192.3. The story does not tell us much about the exporter, but because the car was stolen more than 46 years ago, I seriously doubt the he knew the car was stolen. And if the exporter did not know the car was stolen, customs own guidelines state that the seized car can be returned to the to the person who obtained an ownership interest in good faith and without awareness of the theft. The story and comments below:

LOS ANGELES— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in officers in partnership with a National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) Special Agent and a California Highway Patrol-Investigative Services Unit

CBP Seizure of Stolen Jaguar XKE

Investigator assigned to the Foreign Export and Recovery (FEAR) outbound team at the Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB) seaport complex, recently recovered and seized five automobiles ranging from 47 years old to brand new.

Stolen 46 years ago in New York, in a container en route to the Netherlands, a white, two door 1967 Jaguar XKE convertible was discovered and ordered returned. When only a year old, that British sports car was taken from its residence between 11:15 p.m. on March 13, 1968, and 7:50 a.m. the following morning. It was a bullet grey color then, valued at $5,000. Today, in fair condition, it is worth about $23,600; others in better condition can fetch near $100K.

The collectible will be reunited with its excited owner who lives in Florida now and remarked over the phone, “This is just a miracle, a miracle. I was 36 years old then and now I’m 82. It was my first good car and favorite. It’s a wonderful car. I used to get up at 4 or 5 in the morning on either Saturday or Sunday and drive it 90 to 100 (mph) on the highway in New York. It was good for the engine in a car like that. I bought it brand new. I had it less than a year. I’m going to restore it. And, if anyone asks, I’ll tell them I’m very proud of my government.”

The four other cars seized are a stolen 1969 blue Chevrolet Corvette, and fraudulently obtained 1976 light brown and 2007 white Mercedes models 280 and E350, respectively and 2014 red Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.

Given that it was stolen more than 40 years and has probably passed through several different owners, I am willing to bet the current owner of the vehicle and whoever was going to be receiving it in Europe was surprised at the seizure. There could be some penalties in their future. If so, they should get a customs lawyer because they have a great chance of getting the car back by making a legal argument for its return through a petition for remission filed with the local FP&F Officer.

If you have a customs problem like this or any of the other customs violations our customs law firm handles, call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a customs lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page.

Tariff Classification – Proposed HTSUS Modifications

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 18, 2014

Imports into the United States must be properly classified in the HTSUS tariff schedules, officially known as the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (“HTSUS”). The HTSUS is based off the nomenclature published by the Word Customs Organization (WCO). A good importer knows that if your tariff classifications for imports are wrong you may find yourself facing some serious 592 penalties if you do not make a valid prior disclosure to U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP).

When changes are made to the nomenclature that the HTSUS is based on then the United States is to make changes to the HTSUS. This can sometimes have an affect on tariff classification. Recently, the agency responsible for maintaining the HTSUS, the United States International

HTSUS Tariff Classification — HTSUS Chapter 84 Classification Affected by the Proposed Changes

Trade Commission (USITC), notified the public about upcoming recommended changes and will provide an opportunity to comment on them. An invitation to comment is likely to begin sometime around December 2014. A notice about this was also published in the Federal Register.

Though the United States is still preparing its proposed modifications to the HTSUS you can get a preview of the changes by viewing the WCO’s original recommendations HERE (PDF). As can be seen, there are numerous proposed changes that may affect HTSUS tariff classification of imported fish and seafoods, dairy products, infant formulas, beverages, inorganic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, wood and wooden articles, fabrics, ceramics, copper and copper articles, mechanical/agricultural appliances, and many others imported goods in almost every chapter of the HTSUS.

In addition to the recommended changes to the HTSUS the USITC is proposing changes from by CBP that would potentially effect the proper classification (at least for statistical purposes) of corned beef and taros, otherwise known as dasheens.

As the director of the HTSUS division wisely said, importers and exporters who might “be affected … will want to stay on top of the process as it moves forward.” This is because interested parties will have an opportunity to comment on the proposed changes, and possibly make a difference in how the changes are implemented, if at all.

If you need help classifying your imports privately or by requesting a prospective ruling from CBP, need to protest a classification decision of CBP, or want to comment on the proposed changes to the HTSUS that will affect how your company’s imports are classified for customs purposes, you should contact our office by e-mail or call (734) 855-4999. We are experienced in adressing specific concerns of clients before federal angencies, congressional committees, and classifying products in the HTSUS. You can also make use of our other articles, such as:

San Juan CBP officers seize counterfeit electronics

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 16, 2014

Many fail to grasp the importance of CBP seizures of counterfeit merchandise, and many fail to grasp they are liable for purchases made on the Internet that involve the importation of goods into the United States customs territory. It causes the trademark holder harm, confuses the purchasers, steals money from consumers who overpay for fakes, and destroy a reputation for brand quality. Some counterfeits, like electronics with a fake testing laboratory certifications, or those missing legally required safety features, are simply dangerous.

The story that follows perfectly demonstrates the reasons why customs seizes counterfeits and often penalizes people who import them, my comments are in [brackets] (original story HERE):

The Internet has made it easy to find and purchase items from almost anywhere in the world [NOTE: Something we talked about in Customs Liability for Internet Purchases – CLICK HERE]. With a high demand for well-known brands, many online vendors sell counterfeit products online, infringing on various trademark holder’s rights and revenues.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) San Juan Field Operations officers and import specialists seized this past weekend various courier consignments that contained counterfeit speakers, car beepers [??], iPhone parts, cell phone front screens, USB cables and writs-watches [seizure of counterfeit iPhone and Apple parts is a popular past-time of CBP].

Various consignments inspected by CBP officers at the San Juan Air Cargo facility, revealed products that infringed the intellectual property rights of Dr. Dre beats, Pandora, Samsung, BMW, Belkin and Disney trademarks. The products were shipped from vendors in China and Hong Kong. “The trade in these illegitimate goods is associated with smuggling and other criminal activities, and often funds criminal enterprises”, stated Area Port Director Juan Hurtado. “Protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) remains a CBP priority trade issue.”

Consumers seek and purchase particular brands of products, believing that such brands have an intrinsic guarantee of their quality. Without a brand to protect, counterfeiters just seek to produce superficial quality products and take advantage of the loyalty that consumers have for a branded product. Poor quality products end up destroying the reputation of the copied brand, when it becomes impossible to distinguish the real product from a counterfeit.

The last paragraph raises an interested question that I haven’t found a client willing to argue before customs yet: what happens when the products aren’t counterfeits, but are gray market goods that the trademark holder does not want imported into the United States? In other words, what happens when people inside the factory where genuine goods are made take some product out the backdoor and sell it online, and it gets imported into the United States? That’s an interesting question indeed….

Like we have explained previously, anytime your imports violate the law you face a hefty penalty for a CBP counterfeit seizure. We can help you if you are facing penalties from CBP 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 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 CBP counterfeit seizure articles:

Million Dollar Week for Customs Currency Seizures

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 11, 2014

Our customs currency seizure clients typically aren’t the type of people who smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars across the border as part of some crime (see our typical cases here), and so the amounts of seized currency we typically see don’t quite reach the proportions of these recent CBP currency seizures in Arizona that netted CBP of more than a half million bucks. If these people could prove they weren’t up to no-good by showing the money came from a legitimate source and had a legitimate intended use, then this seizure of their money was completely avoidable. Read our popular information on responding to a currency seizure by clicking HERE.

Just look at this story below: Customs Currency Seizure

TUCSON, Ariz. – One week after seizing almost half a million dollars in unreported U.S. currency at a crossing in Nogales, Arizona, port officials apprehended a 25-year-old Mexican national Sunday for failing to declare more than $190,000 when he attempted to cross into Mexico through the Port of Nogales.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers conducting outbound inspections at the Mariposa crossing selected a vehicle driven by Luis Yovanni De La Herran-Zamudio for further inspection and found the unreported money hidden beneath his vehicle’s rear hatch.

Officers processed the vehicle and currency for seizure, and referred De La Herran to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

On Aug. 16, officers at the DeConcini crossing seized $420,000 from a male resident of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.

Easy come, easy go. Let’s be realistic, the currency was more than just “un-reported” as the story says: it was completely concealed (hello, bulk cash smuggling violations). And since the man was arrested, we reasonably guess there were some truly suspicious circumstances beyond just an inadvertent failure to file a currency report.

But now, even if criminal charges were not filed or if they are ultimately found not guilty of a crime they may still face civil forfeiture of the money. They will have to fight for its return administratively, or in the courts. 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.

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Customs Counterfeit Seizure of Tablet Computers

Posted by Jason P. Wapiennik on September 9, 2014

As part of our ongoing efforts to analyze news in light of the customs laws and keep importers informed of the rights and obligations, we provide the below about a customs counterfeit seizure (original here) for alleged fake tablet computers with illegal counterfeit marks.

Many fail to grasp the importance of customs seizing counterfeit merchandise. In the picture below which is from the original customs news release had the caption “A tablet computer with counterfeit marks for SD.” Well, I guess… “Tarjeta SD” does translate to “SD Card” but I think the seizure for SD violative marks may have rested on more than just this word appearing inside the operating system. Or it may not have. Anyway, on to the story, with our further analysis below:

LAREDO, Texas – The Import Specialist Enforcement Team [“ISET”] at U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Laredo Port of Entry recently seized a commercial shipment of counterfeit electronic tablets valued at $1.1 million for allegedly infringing on the Amazon, Google, Micro SD and SD registered and recorded U.S. trademarks.

In the recently finalized enforcement action, a CBP import specialist at World Trade Bridge selected a shipment of polymer lithium operated screens, electronic tablets, for a secondary examination. During the examination, CBP import specialists observed that the electronic tablets bore the Amazon, Google, Micro SD and SD trademarks, all of which are trademark recorded with CBP. A legal review by CBP Headquarters Intellectual Property Rights Branch indicated the imported tablets bore potentially counterfeit marks. A license administrator for SD confirmed that the use of their trademark was unauthorized. CBP’s ISET determined on August 14 that the shipment of 11,540 electronic tablets lacked legal authorization from SD-3C LLC, Google Inc., and Amazon Technologies Inc., and that the tablets were counterfeit and subject to seizure. CBP subsequently seized the tablets, which carried a manufacturer’s suggested retail price, had the trademarks been genuine, of $1.1 million.

“This is a significant seizure of tablets found to be infringing on three separate trademarks recorded with CBP,” said Joseph Misenhelter, CBP port director, Laredo Port of Entry. “Seizures like these ensure that valuable intellectual property is protected from harm from would-be knockoff products and help restore the integrity of America’s economy.”

Like we have explained previously, this importer stands to face a hefty penalty — around $1 million — for this customs counterfeit seizure. 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).

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