Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Denise Barnes discussed a recent settlement involving Harman International who paid nearly $12 million in response to allegations that it improperly imported goods from China. The case solidifies the government’s use of the False Claims Act (FCA) to enforce tariff fraud enforcement.
“It opens up exposure for other companies that would not necessarily be considering the False Claims Act in their risk analysis,” said Denise. She adds, “while much of the FCA liability has often been placed on healthcare companies’ attempts to defraud government subsidy programs, the expanding regime shows the risk to many other types of companies, especially retailers and manufacturers.”
Many of the recent enforcement actions involve goods imported from China, indicating the DOJ’s targeting of goods from that country, Denise said. “Maybe they started focusing on China two to three years ago, but we’re just starting to see the resolutions now,” she added.
The full article, “Harman tariff fraud deal signals renewed government focus on FCA cases,” was published by Global Investigations Review on December 12 and is available online (subscription required).