Pallets, Penalties And Parallel Proceedings: $549.5 Million Perfectus Aluminum Settlement Sets A New High-Water Mark In False Claims Act Trade Fraud Enforcement

On May 12, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $549.5 million False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC and four related warehouse companies, marking a significant escalation in customs fraud enforcement under the FCA. This settlement is by far the largest resolution to date associated with DOJ’s Trade Fraud Task Force, more than 10 times larger than the $54.4 million Ceratizit settlement announced in December 2025, which was previously the government’s largest customs-related FCA recovery. The amounts that will actually be recovered under the Perfectus Aluminum settlement depend on various contingencies outlined in the agreement and overlap with amounts already owed under criminal resolutions for the same underlying conduct.

This settlement underscores a development that should be top of mind for importers and companies with international supply chains: DOJ is increasingly treating alleged tariff and customs violations not simply as administrative issues, but as criminal and civil fraud matters, where it brings its full arsenal of law enforcement tools to bear.

How the Case Unfolded

DOJ alleged that Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC and four affiliated warehousing companies made false statements on customs forms to avoid paying antidumping and countervailing duties on more than 2.2 million aluminum extrusions imported from China between 2011 and 2014. The companies allegedly spot-welded the aluminum extrusions together to make them seem like “pallets,” which were not subject to duties. The government claims that the companies did not have customers for the pallets, which the government alleges were never sold.

In August 2021, a federal jury found the aluminum and warehouse companies guilty of conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371), wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) and passing false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse (18 U.S.C. § 545). The aluminum companies also were found guilty of international promotional money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A)). In April 2022, the federal district court ordered the six companies to pay $1.83 billion in restitution and sentenced them to five years of probation and also entered a final order of civil forfeiture for the government to seize the pallets.

The civil settlement credits funds recovered through the other proceedings to the civil settlement and resolves FCA and related civil liability for the same underlying conduct through a consent judgment entered in a consolidated whistleblower “qui tam” suit. The settlement brings to an end three qui tam suits brought by private plaintiffs under the FCA in 2015, 2017 and 2018, two individuals and one trade association representing the aluminum extrusion industry, the Aluminum Extruders Council. The qui tam provisions of the FCA allow private plaintiffs, known as “relators,” to file suit for alleged monetary frauds on the United States and share in 15–30% of any government recovery. The settlement provides that the relator who filed first will receive 17.5% of amounts actually collected and recovered by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in connection with the $549.5 million civil settlement. It provides that none of the three relators will seek any additional shares of amounts recovered in the various criminal and civil actions for the underlying conduct. The settlement alludes to possible agreements to share among the various relators, a feature that arises frequently in settlements resolving multiple overlapping qui tam suits.

Implications: DOJ’s Trade Fraud Enforcement Playbook Comes into Focus

This settlement signals the vigorous enforcement efforts led by the Trade Fraud Task Force, which was launched by DOJ and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in August 2025. Notably, the settlement underscores that the Task Force’s mandate is not limited to new cases and investigations but also brings coordinated civil and criminal enforcement resources to bear on past conduct and pending investigations that may long predate the Task Force’s launch.

The Perfectus settlement is consistent with several themes already evident in the Task Force’s early matters. It reflects DOJ’s pattern of pairing civil FCA theories with criminal enforcement tools: the settlement agreement itself details related criminal actions, and DOJ has underscored that, where appropriate, the Task Force will pursue customs violations through FCA actions alongside parallel criminal proceedings. The matter also involves antidumping and countervailing duties on Chinese-origin aluminum products, aligning with recent customs fraud announcements involving similar alleged evasion schemes to underpay duties on products from China.

As the settlement announcement makes clear, this case was, at its core, a customs matter—and another powerful example of the close coordination between DOJ and CBP that was identified as a key Task Force priority. Office of Trade Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan S. Thomas said, “Duty evasion is not a victimless crime; it hurts businesses that play by the rules and undermines U.S. economic security. I am proud of CBP’s close collaboration with the Justice Department and Homeland Security Investigations[.]” This case demonstrates how traditional customs violations can escalate into major civil and criminal enforcement actions.

The settlement also highlights the central role of qui tam relators, including industry participants, in customs fraud enforcement. The relator’s share provisions of the FCA provide competitors, industry groups, brokers, vendors and other supply chain participants likely to have valuable information with powerful incentives to bring alleged customs violations to the government’s attention. DOJ encouraged competitors and other whistleblowers to come forward when it announced the Trade Fraud Task Force. The FCA’s qui tam provisions allow qui tam relators to share in proceeds of their cases, including those obtained through “alternate remedies” DOJ may choose to pursue. DOJ has traditionally resisted paying proceeds of criminal recoveries to FCA qui tam relators and has won this issue in court many times, but the settlement illustrates how it will do so in certain cases by allocating recoveries from criminal proceedings to civil settlements, avoiding litigation with relators over their entitlement to a share.

Key Takeaways

• Customs duties exposure can become FCA exposure. The FCA reaches not only false claims for payment from the government, but also knowing avoidance of obligations to pay money to the government. DOJ can use this “reverse false claims” theory to pursue alleged underpayment of duties and tariffs, including customs duties obligations. Importers should therefore assess whether trade compliance decisions create potential treble-damages and penalty exposure under the FCA, as well as potential criminal exposure, rather than assuming the issue will be resolved solely through CBP administrative processes.
• Whistleblower risk is not limited to insiders. The FCA allows private relators to sue on behalf of the United States and share in the government’s recovery. The Task Force has invited referrals from domestic industries and encouraged whistleblowers to use the FCA qui tam provisions in trade fraud matters. The Perfectus settlement illustrates that industry participants and trade associations may play a direct role in identifying and pursuing alleged customs fraud.
• Civil and criminal teams should be assumed to be coordinating. DOJ’s Task Force is designed to leverage DOJ’s Civil and Criminal Divisions, CBP and Homeland Security Investigations in trade fraud matters. The Perfectus resolution follows criminal and forfeiture proceedings involving the same alleged customs fraud scheme. Companies should not assume that resolving a CBP inquiry or civil customs issue will foreclose parallel criminal or civil fraud scrutiny.

How Akin Can Help

This settlement highlights the substantial civil, criminal and regulatory risks facing companies that import goods subject to complex tariff, country-of-origin and customs duty requirements. Akin’s recently expanded FCA team, which has brought in former senior officials with decades of experience in DOJ’s Civil Fraud Section, works hand-in-hand with Akin’s Chambers-ranked white-collar defense and customs practices. Our integrated approach brings together customs attorneys who understand the technical and regulatory framework with defense counsel experienced in handling both civil and criminal investigations and litigation. This combination allows us to provide seamless, comprehensive representation when customs matters evolve into civil fraud or criminal proceedings—exactly the trajectory seen in the Perfectus matter.

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