On November 17, 2025, the owner of an Indonesian jewelry company (USB Gold) and two employees werechargedwith taking part in a scheme to evade over $86 million in duties on jewelry imports.
The employees were arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and were detained. The company co-owner, who was also charged, remains in Indonesia and has not yet been arrested.
The defendants allegedly engaged in a complex scheme to import over $1.2 billion of jewelry and illegally defraud the United States out of more than $86 million in customs duties and tariffs.
The alleged scheme included two parts:
- First, UBS Gold made jewelry in Indonesia and shipped it to Jordan, which had a Free Trade Agreement with the United States, before sending it to the United States. The defendants then falsely claimed that UBS Gold jewelry had been manufactured in Jordan, which avoided the duty that would otherwise apply.
- Second, when the U.S. announcedadditional tariffson Indonesia and Jordan earlier this year, the company began shipping scrap gold from the U.S. to Jordan, which they falsely claimed was gold jewelry that simply needed to be assembled or finished in Jordan. Instead, the defendants and co-conspirators swapped the scrap gold for UBS Gold jewelry made in Indonesia, which they then shipped from Jordan to the U.S. The defendants falsely claimed that the jewelry had been manufactured in the U.S., so they could avoid paying the tariffs that would otherwise apply.
The wire fraud conspiracy charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of either $250,000 for the individual defendants or $500,000 for the corporate entity or twice the gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater.
This case demonstrates the government's focus on enforcement and the importance of prioritizing compliance programs. Although this case was egregious, importers can still face substantial fines and penalties when they fail to exercisereasonable careand misclassify goods or misstate thecountry of origin.
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