BizLink Settles False Claims For $1.2M; Whistleblower to Get $252K

California-based Bizlink Technology, Inc. (BTI) has agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations that the company violated the False Claims Act by underpaying customs duties owed on goods imported from China, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced earlier this month.

BTI allegedly underpaid customs duties on goods that BTI imported into the United States from Bizlink International Electronics Co., Ltd., a factory in Shenzhen, China. BTI allegedly obtained two sets of invoices for each shipment from the Chinese factory: one true invoice that BTI paid, and a second invoice falsely stating a lower cost. The false invoices were allegedly used to calculate the customs duties that BTI paid on the imported goods, resulting in substantial underpayments.

The lawsuit was originally filed by a former employee of BTI under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act.  The Act allows private parties with knowledge of fraud against the government to sue on behalf of the government and share in the recovery.  The unnamed whistleblower will receive $252,000 as his portion of the settlement.

The Chanler Group, in association with the Hirst Law Group, represents whistleblowers who take action under the False Claims Act to report fraud committed against the federal and state governments.  We have years of experience representing whistleblower clients who expose every kind of fraud against the government, including health care fraud, contract fraud, and tax fraud.  Read more about our expertise in False Claims Act cases and how you can take action.