A federal jury in Los Angeles on Aug. 23 convicted six southern California companies for taking part in a large-scale conspiracy to avoid paying $1.8 billion in customs duties by disguising aluminum imports as pallets. The conspirators then sold the pallets to entities disguised to look like real customers with the intent of fraudulently inflating the value of China Zhongwang, the largest manufacturer of aluminum extrusions in Asia. The six California companies, two aluminum firms, and four warehousing businesses were all related to each other. The jury found all six guilty of “one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud, and seven counts of passing false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse,” according to a press release from the Department of Justice. “The aluminum sold to United States-based companies controlled by [Zhongtian] Liu was simply aluminum extrusions that were spot-welded together to make them appear to be functional pallets,” the …
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