President Donald Trump administration task force uncovers more than $1 billion in alleged trade fraud

BENSENVILLE, Ill. — The Trump administration says its fight against commercial fraud has already surpassed $1 billion in recoveries and alleged losses, less than a year after launching a task force dedicated to the initiative.

That figure includes money recovered in criminal and civil cases, including penalties, settlements, restitution, asset forfeitures and alleged losses in ongoing cases, according to the task force. Of this total, only $150 million is related to ongoing cases. The news was shared exclusively with CNN.

The Trump administration has made trade enforcement a central part of its broader efforts to increase tariff collections and crack down on companies accused of skirting U.S. trade rules.

The task force, led by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security, was created just as President Donald Trump’s delayed “Liberation Day” tariffs took effect, with rates of up to 50% on goods from some countries. The Supreme Court later ruled that the president did not have sufficient authority to impose the tariffs.

High tariff rates have incentivized importers to reduce their tariffs – sometimes through legal strategies, such as adjusting products to qualify for different tariff classifications or using customs-regulated warehouses that allow companies to delay payments.

But it may also have pushed more importers to turn to illegal systems.

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A Goldman Sachs analysis last year estimated that tariff evasion could ultimately affect more than $200 billion in U.S. imports and reduce customs revenue by about $40 billion in the long term. Economists have identified misrepresentation of the value of goods, falsification of countries of origin and routing of shipments through third countries with lower customs duties among the most likely methods of evasion.

There are indications of possible tariff evasion in discrepancies between the value of U.S.-reported imports for countries and the value that other countries reported exporting to the United States in a given period, economists said.

The analysis also noted that the impact could be less if the administration’s efforts to combat tax evasion prove effective.

The case that pushed the task force past the billion-dollar threshold was that of a U.S. jewelry importer accused of falsely declaring the country of origin and rerouting imported gold coins to a country with lower tariffs.

The charges filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois allege that the jewelry, estimated to be worth a total of more than approximately $240 million, was associated with $13.6 million in missing customs revenue.

“The Department’s goal remains consistent: If you misclassify goods or falsify their origins to avoid any legal obligations, regardless of when those obligations were enacted or evolve over time, we will investigate and prosecute you,” Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald, who leads the task force, said in a statement to CNN. “Our mom-and-pop stores have seen their prices drop and closed their doors. This is a central issue we are focused on. Let corporate America fight fair.”

McDonald spoke Tuesday in the Chicago suburb of Bensenville.

Boxes and boxes of seized products are located in a nondescript warehouse near O’Hare Airport. It is subject to secondary inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when there is suspicion that importers may be using deceptive measures to avoid paying customs duties or attempting to circumvent the country’s trade laws.

“These are all FDA violations that you see on these boards. Vapes are not allowed for certain flavors,” said Salvatore Ingrassia, executive director of field operations for U.S. Commerce and Customs and Border Patrol.

The biggest source of recovery comes not from illegal products seized at the gate, but rather from a nearly $550 million legal settlement with a California aluminum company that for years lied on customs forms to present its Chinese products as finished goods not subject to tariffs. Although the settlement was only recently finalized, the government secured Perfectus Aluminum’s conviction nearly five years ago.

“This case is one example of many, large and small, that are in the works and have come to fruition at a record pace over the last 10 months,” McDonald said.

He recognized the key role whistleblowers play in prosecuting these cases, encouraging others to come forward when credible allegations of fraud arise.

ABC Chicago affiliate WLS Michelle Gallardo contributed to this report.

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