Washington, District Of Columbia , Dec. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The law firm of Tycko & Zavareei LLP is pleased to announce the settlement of a major customs evasion qui tam case in which the firm represented the whistleblower. The defendant, Ceratizit USA, LLC ("Ceratizit") has agreed to pay $54,400,000 to the United States. This is the largest-ever settlement of a customs duties evasion case under the False Claims Act. The United States has agreed to pay the whistleblower $9,750,000 as the reward for having brought the case.
Ceratizit is a major importer and seller of tungsten carbide rods, used primarily to produce finished cutting tools for the metalworking industry. The case alleged that Ceratizit engaged in three types of unlawful conduct. First, the case alleged that Ceratizit imported tungsten carbide rods that it claimed, on official import documentation, were made in Taiwan, but that Ceratizit knew, in fact, had been made in China and then transshipped through Taiwan to disguise their true country of origin. By claiming a false country of origin, Ceratizit evaded tariffs that applied to Chinese-made products. Second, the case alleged that, on official import documentation, Ceratizit knowingly misclassified the tungsten carbide rods under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (the "HTSUS"). Through that HTSUS misclassification, which misinformed the U.S. government about the nature of the products Ceratizit was importing, Ceratizit evaded...
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