On March 25, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Evolutions Flooring Inc., an importer of multilayered wood flooring, and its owners agreed to pay $8.1 Million to settle False Claims Act (FCA) allegations that they knowingly and improperly evaded customs duties on imports of multilayered wood flooring from the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
The case stems from a qui tam whistleblower lawsuit filed by Urban Global LLC, who is set to receive $1.2 million of the settlement.
According to the government, “Evolutions, at the direction of Lin and Qian, knowingly and improperly evaded customs duties, including antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties, on multilayered wood flooring manufactured in the PRC that Evolutions imported between Sept. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2022.
The allegations include claims that “Evolutions caused false information to be submitted to [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] regarding the identity of the manufacturers and country of origin of the imported multilayered wood flooring.”
“Import duties provide an important source of government revenue and level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers against their global competitors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov M. Roth of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will pursue those who seek an unfair advantage in U.S. markets, including by evading the duties owed on goods imported into this country from China.”
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