US, Importer Working on Settlement in Customs Penalty Suit After Director's End of Prison Sentence

The U.S. and Kevin Ho, owner and director of importer Atria, have agreed to try and resolve a customs penalty action via stipulated judgment and are now working to negotiate a number Ho will pay, the parties said in a Sept. 16 status report. The development comes after Ho pleaded guilty in a parallel criminal proceeding in which he was sentenced to 18 months in prison (United States v. Chu-Chiang "Kevin" Ho, CIT # 19-00038).

Ho was recently released from prison "and is serving out his sentence on probation," the status report said. The parties said they "are in agreement" that the case at the Court of International Trade "should be resolved by way of a stipulated judgment." The parties have been engaged in discussions over the last few months and hope to come to a resolution within the next three months.

The U.S. originally brought its case against Ho for illegally importing high intensity discharge (HID) headlight conversion kits. The trade court previously rejected Ho's motion to dismiss the case for failing to receive final penalty notice and for lack of personal jurisdiction. However, the court did partially dismiss the case for failure to state a claim, though the court gave the U.S. a chance to amend its complaint to flesh out the factual allegations on Ho's knowledge and intent to violate customs law based on fraud (see 2207120038).