B. Stephanie Siegmann, partner, chair of the International Trade & National Security Group, and co-chair of the Cybersecurity, Privacy & Data Protection Group, shared her unique perspective with Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly on how the False Claims Act (“FCA”) is expected to serve as a key enforcement tool in combating tariff evasion, alongside the use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) to detect customs fraud.
During Stephanie’s time at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the office reached a $22.2 million settlement with Linde GmbH, a multinational corporation headquartered in Germany, and its U.S. subsidiary to resolve allegations of an FCA violation, where Linde knowingly made false statements on customs declarations to avoid paying import duties.
With the rapid growth and profound transformation driven by AI, federal authorities are using AI to detect instances of transshipping, suspicious shipping routes, and other forms of custom fraud.
“We have so many imports and exports going in and out of the United States every day, and a human can’t read all those entries — it’s a voluminous task,” Stephanie said.
Stephanie also warned that engaging in transshipping to evade responsibilities under U.S. law can lead to consequences beyond civil and criminal penalties under the FCA.
For example, late last year, a Miami man, Hector S. Esquijerosa, admitted to having participated in a conspiracy to smuggle Chinese-made truck tires into the country by transshipping them through third countries, including Canada and Malaysia, Siegmann said.
Read the full article on Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly‘s website (subscription required).
