Bay Area Businessmen Charged with Scheme To Evade Millions in Customs Fees on Chinese Goods

"Xin Mian Pan of San Francisco, who owns Uni-Tile and Marble operating out of San Jose and Hayward and Uni-Stone and Cabinet in San Francisco, working with Hua Liang Xie of South San Francisco and Jinhua Wang, a Chinese national and owner of the China-based Shenzhen Top & Profit International Forwarding Co. Ltd., with fraudulently evading payment of anti-dumping duties, countervailing duties, and other duties imposed on quartz surface products,"

""Defendants are charged with evading customs duties intended to protect U.S. manufacturers and American jobs," said U.S. Attorney Craig H. Missakian in a statement. "The alleged scheme cheated the United States out of hundreds of millions of dollars in customs duties and harmed honest businesses that play by the rules. Companies that think they can beat the system should be on notice that they will be investigated and held accountable.""

"Pan was arrested Wednesday and made his initial appearance in federal district court in San Francisco the next day when the indictment was unsealed. The indictment accused the three men and their companies with conspiracy, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, smuggling and entry of goods by means of false statements, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for Northern California. Pan and his two companies also were charged with international money laundering."

Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment charging Xin Mian Pan, Hua Liang Xie, and Jinhua Wang and several companies with a scheme to evade more than $109 million in customs duties and launder money. Pan owns Uni-Tile and Marble and Uni-Stone and Cabinet. Wang owns Shenzhen Top & Profit International Forwarding Co. Ltd. The indictment alleges fraudulent evasion of anti-dumping, countervailing and other duties on quartz surfaces, wooden cabinets and vanities, and ceramic tiles manufactured in China and imported into the United States. Charges include conspiracy, wire fraud, smuggling and entry of goods by false statements. Pan was arrested and faces additional international money laundering charges for him and his companies.

Read at San Jose Inside