DOJ Trade Fraud Task Force Tops $1 Billion in Recoveries, Forfeitures

The Trade Fraud Task Force, launched by the Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security in August 2025, has recovered or charged more than $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and charged losses in less than a year, the DOJ said Tuesday.

The milestone reflects the federal government’s increased focus on using criminal prosecutions and civil enforcement under the False Claims Act to combat customs and trade fraud, the DOJ said in a statement.

“For too long, fraud actors have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing business,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division, in a press release.

“By utilizing the Department’s full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime. This billion-dollar milestone demonstrates that the United States and the National Fraud Enforcement Division will no longer allow the integrity of our country’s borders and markets to be compromised for illicit profit. This message should be heard loud and clear by all supply-chain actors.”

The task force investigates individuals and companies accused of defrauding U.S. Customs and Border Protection through methods like tariff evasion, routing goods through a third country to avoid tariffs, false country-of-origin declarations, mislabeling imported goods, and other violations.

Its enforcement efforts span the entire supply chain, including importers, customs brokers, distributors, and end users that knowingly profit from illegally imported merchandise.

Officials said the task force has prioritized cases involving the evasion of Section 301 tariffs—trade penalties imposed on countries it determines are engaging in unfair trade practices in global supply chains.

The Justice Department and Homeland Security said the initiative is intended to protect American businesses, strengthen border and trade enforcement, and hold accountable those who seek to gain an unfair competitive advantage through fraudulent trade practices.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago announced charges Tuesday against multiple defendants in two customs duty evasion cases involving imported gold jewelry, describing the prosecutions as part of the DOJ’s broader crackdown on trade fraud.

In one case, Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli, operators of Surya International in San Francisco, were charged with falsely declaring that imported gold jewelry originated in Singapore instead of its alleged true countries of origin, India and the United Arab Emirates. Prosecutors allege the scheme involved approximately 563 import entries between 2020 and 2024, covering more than $693 million worth of jewelry and avoiding more than $38 million in customs duties.

In a separate case, prosecutors charged Narain Gulabani, owner of Barkha Wholesale in Naperville, Illinois, with falsely declaring Oman or Singapore as the country of origin for imported gold jewelry between 2016 and 2021. Authorities allege the scheme involved approximately 242 import entries valued at more than $240 million and avoided more than $13.6 million in customs duties.