A settlement has been reached in a whistleblower class action lawsuit brought against Basco Manufacturing Co who is accused of making false customs declarations to avoid paying duties on products imported from a Chinese manufacturer.
The whistleblower's share of the government's settlement has not been determined.
The original whistleblower case that lead to the government's complaint was filed in 2011. The government alleged that Basco and the companies named in the combined lawsuit stemming from separate whistleblower cases, made false declarations to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions imported from manufacturer Tai Shan in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Allegedly, these companies misrepresented that the aluminum extrusions, which are used in the manufacture of shower enclosures and other products, were imported from Malaysia. The complain further alleged that Basco and the defendants knew that the aluminum extrusions were merely repackaged in Malaysia and did not undergo a substantial transformation that may have justified changing the product’s country of origin from the PRC to Malaysia.
