{"id":294335,"date":"2025-06-15T06:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T06:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/legal\/doj-targets-trade-fraud-importers-now-on-notice-as-criminal-division-ramps-up-enforcement\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T06:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T06:15:59","slug":"doj-targets-trade-fraud-importers-now-on-notice-as-criminal-division-ramps-up-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=294335","title":{"rendered":"DOJ Targets Trade Fraud: Importers Now on Notice as Criminal Division Ramps Up Enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On May 12, 2025, Matthew Galeotti, the Head of the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Criminal Division, sent a<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/media\/1400141\/dl?inline\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">memo<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to all criminal division personnel highlighting the focus areas of the division for white-collar crime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The memo included a list of \u201chigh-impact areas\u201d that the division will prioritize investigating and prosecuting. Trade and customs fraud, including tariff evasion, was second on the list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The DOJ also revised its<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/criminal\/criminal-division-corporate-whistleblower-awards-pilot-program\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Corporate Whistleblower Awards Pilot Program<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and added \u201ctrade, tariff, and customs fraud by corporations\u201d to the priority list.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Galeotti noted that unchecked fraud in U.S. markets robs hardworking Americans, harms the public, and that efficient enforcement promotes American economic and national security interests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This memo signals a significant shift in the priorities of the DOJ\u2019s criminal division. Historically, trade violations were not a top criminal priority and were instead handled by CBP and the DOJ\u2019s Civil Division. Relatively few trade law violation cases have risen to the level of criminal prosecution.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What Importers Should Do<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now more than ever it is critical for importers to <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">examine their<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diaztradelaw.com\/services\/importing\/pre-compliance-plans\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">import compliance programs<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and ensure that adequate procedures are in place to correctly enter goods into the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Invest in Compliance<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">CBP expects importers to use \u201c<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diaztradelaw.com\/bloomberg-what-is-an-importers-reasonable-care-standard\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reasonable care<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d in reporting HTS, value, country of origin, free trade agreement preference, etc. This is a subjective standard; however, CBP provides plentiful resources to guide importers. Working with a customs attorney, importers should develop robust compliance programs that minimize the risk of trade law violations and demonstrate reasonable care.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Due Diligence<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Importers should proactively conduct extensive due diligence in their supply chains to ensure they are able to detect, report, and remedy any noncompliance with customs requirements. Relying on the word of a supplier or the due diligence of a broker is not enough.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Develop or Revisit Voluntary Prior Disclosure (PD) Policies<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When an importer<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/diaztradelaw.com\/bloomberg-submitting-a-prior-disclosure-to-cbp\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">voluntarily discloses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a customs violation, they can benefit significantly from reduced penalties. PD policies create a clear plan of action if an importer discovers a violation. Timely disclosure can make the difference between benefiting from a mitigated penalty or not. It is also critical to work with a customs attorney when submitting a PD to ensure the proper information is provided and to maximize the mitigation benefit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Diaz Trade Law can assist importers in developing compliance plans and guide importers in the event of a customs investigation. Contact us at <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">305-456-3830 or info@diaztradelaw.com.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn more:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On May 12, 2025, Matthew Galeotti, the Head of the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Criminal Division, sent a memo to all criminal division personnel highlighting the focus areas of the division for white-collar crime. The memo included a list of \u201chigh-impact areas\u201d that the division will prioritize investigating and prosecuting. Trade and customs fraud, including [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[14207,38387,4208,31970,19355,11178,38799,2896,39388,14715,16168,9792],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-294335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-legal","tag-criminal","tag-department-of-justice","tag-division","tag-doj","tag-enforcement","tag-fraud","tag-importers","tag-notice","tag-ramps","tag-targets","tag-tariffs","tag-trade"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>DOJ Targets Trade Fraud: Importers Now on Notice as Criminal Division Ramps Up Enforcement - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=294335\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"DOJ Targets Trade Fraud: Importers Now on Notice as Criminal Division Ramps Up Enforcement - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On May 12, 2025, Matthew Galeotti, the Head of the U.S. Department of Justice\u2019s Criminal Division, sent a memo to all criminal division personnel highlighting the focus areas of the division for white-collar crime. 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