Briefly
A latest case introduced by the Division of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Power (PCSF), in partnership with a community of federal enforcement businesses, highlights the assets the federal government is prepared to expend to deal with commerce and procurement fraud towards america. On August 21, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment1 charging two companies and three executives for defrauding the U.S. authorities. The Defendants allegedly falsified certifications claiming Chinese language-made forklifts had been made in America. In furtherance of their scheme, they understated the price of the forklifts to evade import taxes on Chinese language-manufactured items. Defendants’ undervaluation and intentional mislabeling allegedly defrauded the U.S. authorities of over $1 million in tariffs, duties, and costs. The case alerts the DOJ’s strong stance in prosecuting procurement fraud schemes tied to misrepresentations about country-of-origin info.
- The indictment alleges that the businesses and executives imported forklifts from China, eliminated “Made in China” decals, rebranded them as American-made and falsely licensed compliance with the Purchase American and Commerce Agreements Acts, each conditions to be awarded authorities contracts.
- The scheme allegedly included undervaluing imported forklifts on invoices to underpay tariffs, costing the U.S. authorities over $1 million in tariffs, duties, and costs between 2018 and 2024.
- The DOJ Antitrust Division’s PCSF, is main the case, signaling the DOJ’s intent to sort out procurement fraud in commerce and tariff misrepresentations in tandem with broader antitrust enforcement priorities.
- Contractors throughout industries, significantly in protection, manufacturing and infrastructure, ought to count on ongoing scrutiny round compliance with Purchase American, the Commerce Agreements Act, and different federal commerce and tariff legal guidelines, given DOJ’s continued prioritization of eliminating authorities procurement fraud and evasion of tariffs and duties.
The Commerce Fraud Job Power is a brand new initiative by the DOJ and the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) geared toward intensifying enforcement towards customs fraud, tariff evasion, and smuggling. The launch of the duty power in August 2025 marks a major escalation in federal efforts to fight commerce and procurement fraud, significantly schemes that undermine U.S. financial and nationwide safety pursuits. This process power, integrating assets from the DOJ’s Civil and Prison Divisions and DHS businesses like Customs and Border Safety and Homeland Safety Investigations, is designed to aggressively pursue each civil and felony enforcement actions towards importers who evade tariffs, misrepresent product origin, or have interaction in customs fraud. A key precedence is defending taxpayer {dollars} and guaranteeing honest competitors for American producers.
The duty power is actively encouraging whistleblower referrals and voluntary disclosures, signaling elevated scrutiny of importers, exporters, and logistics suppliers. This shift towards felony enforcement represents a major escalation in DOJ’s method to trade-related misconduct.
The latest DOJ indictment exemplifies these enforcement priorities. On September 30, 2025, the DOJ unsealed an indictment towards two forklift firms and three of their executives for allegedly partaking in a scheme to import Chinese language-manufactured forklifts, conceal their true origin, and fraudulently promote them to U.S. authorities businesses as American-made merchandise.
The indictment alleges a multi-year conspiracy beneath the path of the CEO, the previous president, and the present president to buy forklifts from a Chinese language producer and market them to federal businesses as American-made and thereby compliant with the Purchase American Act. Prosecutors allege the businesses eliminated Chinese language-origin labels and inspection tags and issued fraudulent certificates of origin. The Division of Protection and DHS awarded varied authorities contracts primarily based on these false certifications and misrepresentations.
In response to the indictment, Defendants additionally conspired with their Chinese language provider to undervalue forklifts on invoices for U.S. Customs clearance and keep away from greater than $1 million in duties and tariffs.
DOJ Assistant Legal professional Normal for the Antitrust Division, Gail Slater, emphasised the gravity of the scheme in stating that “Defendants fraudulently hid the origins of the merchandise they offered the federal government and conspired to keep away from paying tariffs.”2 She promised that “[t]he Antitrust Division stays laser-focused on guaranteeing the American financial system, together with shoppers and staff, is shielded from dangerous actors.”3 This case displays the DOJ’s more and more aggressive posture in pursuing procurement fraud, significantly the place it intersects with antitrust and commerce enforcement, and the place taxpayer {dollars} are in danger. Many People view “Purchase American” insurance policies as a dedication to advertise home manufacturing, innovation, and job creation. AAG Slater admonished the Defendants for exploiting these values for revenue, forcing taxpayers to pay inflated costs for forklifts falsely marketed as American-made.4 “It means one thing to be made in America,” Slater emphasised. “It means American innovation and ingenuity. It additionally means American jobs. This DOJ won’t tolerate criminals who undermine Purchase American and our tariffs.”5
The case highlights the position of inter-agency collaboration. Investigative companions included america Military Prison Investigative Division, Protection Prison Investigative Service, U.S. Air Power Workplace of Particular Investigation, U.S. Normal Companies Administration Workplace of Inspector Normal, Division of Homeland Safety Workplace of Inspector Normal, Veterans Affairs Workplace of Inspector Normal, and U.S. Protection Contract Audit Company.
The misconduct alleged within the indictment is important not just for its connection to fraud involving commerce and tariff misrepresentations, but in addition as a result of the prosecution is spearheaded by the DOJ Antitrust Division’s PCSF. Since its creation in 2019, the PCSF has served as a central hub for coordinating efforts to fight bid rigging, fraud, and collusion in public procurement throughout federal, state, and native ranges. This case demonstrates the Strike Power’s increasing position in guaranteeing integrity in government-funded tasks, particularly the place procurement intersects with antitrust priorities.The PCSF, DOJ-DHS Commerce Fraud Job Power, and the rising variety of cross-agency process forces, replicate the federal authorities’s give attention to rooting out fraud in each worldwide commerce and public procurement. These efforts mark a strategic shift towards aggressive and coordinated enforcement, mixing civil and felony authorities to pursue misconduct throughout a number of fronts. Federal contractors and suppliers ought to anticipate heightened scrutiny, significantly round compliance with commerce agreements, tariff legal guidelines, and home sourcing necessities such because the Purchase American Act. Now greater than ever, firms should guarantee their inner compliance packages are strong, their provide chain representations are correct and vetted, and their customs reporting is totally aligned with relevant laws. Proactive compliance is important, significantly by firms that promote to the federal government, not solely to mitigate enforcement danger, however to display a dedication to integrity in authorities contracting.
1 Forklifts Indictment
2 Abigal Slater (@AAGSlater), X (September 30, 2025), https://x.com/AAGSlater/standing/1973115810123022612
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
Briefly
A latest case introduced by the Division of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Power (PCSF), in partnership with a community of federal enforcement businesses, highlights the assets the federal government is prepared to expend to deal with commerce and procurement fraud towards america. On August 21, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment1 charging two companies and three executives for defrauding the U.S. authorities. The Defendants allegedly falsified certifications claiming Chinese language-made forklifts had been made in America. In furtherance of their scheme, they understated the price of the forklifts to evade import taxes on Chinese language-manufactured items. Defendants’ undervaluation and intentional mislabeling allegedly defrauded the U.S. authorities of over $1 million in tariffs, duties, and costs. The case alerts the DOJ’s strong stance in prosecuting procurement fraud schemes tied to misrepresentations about country-of-origin info.
- The indictment alleges that the businesses and executives imported forklifts from China, eliminated “Made in China” decals, rebranded them as American-made and falsely licensed compliance with the Purchase American and Commerce Agreements Acts, each conditions to be awarded authorities contracts.
- The scheme allegedly included undervaluing imported forklifts on invoices to underpay tariffs, costing the U.S. authorities over $1 million in tariffs, duties, and costs between 2018 and 2024.
- The DOJ Antitrust Division’s PCSF, is main the case, signaling the DOJ’s intent to sort out procurement fraud in commerce and tariff misrepresentations in tandem with broader antitrust enforcement priorities.
- Contractors throughout industries, significantly in protection, manufacturing and infrastructure, ought to count on ongoing scrutiny round compliance with Purchase American, the Commerce Agreements Act, and different federal commerce and tariff legal guidelines, given DOJ’s continued prioritization of eliminating authorities procurement fraud and evasion of tariffs and duties.
The Commerce Fraud Job Power is a brand new initiative by the DOJ and the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) geared toward intensifying enforcement towards customs fraud, tariff evasion, and smuggling. The launch of the duty power in August 2025 marks a major escalation in federal efforts to fight commerce and procurement fraud, significantly schemes that undermine U.S. financial and nationwide safety pursuits. This process power, integrating assets from the DOJ’s Civil and Prison Divisions and DHS businesses like Customs and Border Safety and Homeland Safety Investigations, is designed to aggressively pursue each civil and felony enforcement actions towards importers who evade tariffs, misrepresent product origin, or have interaction in customs fraud. A key precedence is defending taxpayer {dollars} and guaranteeing honest competitors for American producers.
The duty power is actively encouraging whistleblower referrals and voluntary disclosures, signaling elevated scrutiny of importers, exporters, and logistics suppliers. This shift towards felony enforcement represents a major escalation in DOJ’s method to trade-related misconduct.
The latest DOJ indictment exemplifies these enforcement priorities. On September 30, 2025, the DOJ unsealed an indictment towards two forklift firms and three of their executives for allegedly partaking in a scheme to import Chinese language-manufactured forklifts, conceal their true origin, and fraudulently promote them to U.S. authorities businesses as American-made merchandise.
The indictment alleges a multi-year conspiracy beneath the path of the CEO, the previous president, and the present president to buy forklifts from a Chinese language producer and market them to federal businesses as American-made and thereby compliant with the Purchase American Act. Prosecutors allege the businesses eliminated Chinese language-origin labels and inspection tags and issued fraudulent certificates of origin. The Division of Protection and DHS awarded varied authorities contracts primarily based on these false certifications and misrepresentations.
In response to the indictment, Defendants additionally conspired with their Chinese language provider to undervalue forklifts on invoices for U.S. Customs clearance and keep away from greater than $1 million in duties and tariffs.
DOJ Assistant Legal professional Normal for the Antitrust Division, Gail Slater, emphasised the gravity of the scheme in stating that “Defendants fraudulently hid the origins of the merchandise they offered the federal government and conspired to keep away from paying tariffs.”2 She promised that “[t]he Antitrust Division stays laser-focused on guaranteeing the American financial system, together with shoppers and staff, is shielded from dangerous actors.”3 This case displays the DOJ’s more and more aggressive posture in pursuing procurement fraud, significantly the place it intersects with antitrust and commerce enforcement, and the place taxpayer {dollars} are in danger. Many People view “Purchase American” insurance policies as a dedication to advertise home manufacturing, innovation, and job creation. AAG Slater admonished the Defendants for exploiting these values for revenue, forcing taxpayers to pay inflated costs for forklifts falsely marketed as American-made.4 “It means one thing to be made in America,” Slater emphasised. “It means American innovation and ingenuity. It additionally means American jobs. This DOJ won’t tolerate criminals who undermine Purchase American and our tariffs.”5
The case highlights the position of inter-agency collaboration. Investigative companions included america Military Prison Investigative Division, Protection Prison Investigative Service, U.S. Air Power Workplace of Particular Investigation, U.S. Normal Companies Administration Workplace of Inspector Normal, Division of Homeland Safety Workplace of Inspector Normal, Veterans Affairs Workplace of Inspector Normal, and U.S. Protection Contract Audit Company.
The misconduct alleged within the indictment is important not just for its connection to fraud involving commerce and tariff misrepresentations, but in addition as a result of the prosecution is spearheaded by the DOJ Antitrust Division’s PCSF. Since its creation in 2019, the PCSF has served as a central hub for coordinating efforts to fight bid rigging, fraud, and collusion in public procurement throughout federal, state, and native ranges. This case demonstrates the Strike Power’s increasing position in guaranteeing integrity in government-funded tasks, particularly the place procurement intersects with antitrust priorities.The PCSF, DOJ-DHS Commerce Fraud Job Power, and the rising variety of cross-agency process forces, replicate the federal authorities’s give attention to rooting out fraud in each worldwide commerce and public procurement. These efforts mark a strategic shift towards aggressive and coordinated enforcement, mixing civil and felony authorities to pursue misconduct throughout a number of fronts. Federal contractors and suppliers ought to anticipate heightened scrutiny, significantly round compliance with commerce agreements, tariff legal guidelines, and home sourcing necessities such because the Purchase American Act. Now greater than ever, firms should guarantee their inner compliance packages are strong, their provide chain representations are correct and vetted, and their customs reporting is totally aligned with relevant laws. Proactive compliance is important, significantly by firms that promote to the federal government, not solely to mitigate enforcement danger, however to display a dedication to integrity in authorities contracting.
1 Forklifts Indictment
2 Abigal Slater (@AAGSlater), X (September 30, 2025), https://x.com/AAGSlater/standing/1973115810123022612
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
