Clothing Importer Settles False Claims Act Allegations for Nearly $7.7 Million

Womenswear company Alexis will pay nearly $7.7 million to settle a whistleblower False Claims Act case, which alleged that the company underpaid customs duties on its apparel imports, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced Aug. 9.

The government alleged that from 2015 to 2022, Alexis misreported to CBP the value of its imports, skirting the full amount of customs duties owed on the goods. The U.S. said Alexis' senior management "fully cooperated" with the investigation, timely and voluntarily submitting information and additionally implementing "compliance procedures and employee training to preclude future issues."

Specifically, Alexis admitted to failing to apportion the value of assists, in the form of "fabric and garment trims," to the customs value of the imported goods, and "that the value of certain 'Assists' should have been included in the customs value," the U.S. Attorney's Office said. The company also said it found and corrected discrepancies between its customs forms and sales documents, as well as tariff classification errors.