The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday that it has filed a civil lawsuit against Paul Bakhoum, who previously served as the Vice President of Operations at Ecosolargy Inc., a California-based company that imports solar panels manufactured in China to the United States. Bakhoum is accused of providing false statements to customs officials to avoid paying the applicable Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS), anti-dumping, and countervailing duties on the imported solar panels.
According to the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs website, importers are obligated to provide all necessary information to allow Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to assess the applicable duties on goods, including any Harmonized Tariff Schedule, anti-dumping, and countervailing duties that may apply to the merchandise, in order to protect domestic industries from unfair trade practices by foreign companies.
The lawsuit alleges that Bakhoum falsely classified the solar panels imported by Ecosolargy as LED lights from China. He also misrepresented the HTS codes and values of the imported solar panels to CBP, and failed to determine the appropriate anti-dumping and countervailing duty rates applicable to the solar panels.
Brian M. Boynton, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the DOJ’s Civil Division, stated, “The Department of Justice is committed to pursuing individuals who evade duties or engage in unfair trade practices that harm American manufacturers. We will continue to use all available tools to ensure that American manufacturers compete on a level playing field.”
Susan Thomas, Executive Director for CBP’s Office of Trade and Operations Support, emphasized, “CBP takes seriously its mission to protect trade in the American economy. We work to uphold fair trade practices and safeguard American job opportunities from predatory actions. These civil remedies should serve as a warning to those attempting to harm our economy and American businesses.”
The complaint seeks to recover nearly $300,000 in import duties and close to $800,000 in civil penalties.
Daniel Hoffman, an attorney with the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch at the Federal District Court, is handling the case. He has filed a lawsuit in the Court of International Trade under the case name United States v. Paul Bakhoum with docket number 24-00188.
To combat trade fraud and duty evasion, the DOJ has established a Trade Fraud Task Force. This task force collaborates with CBP and other law enforcement agencies to ensure compliance with U.S. trade laws.
Bakhoum is a co-founder and Vice President of Operations at Revel Energy. He had previously served as the Vice President of Operations at EcoSolargy, Inc.