By Katabella Roberts
January 7, 2022 Updated: January 7, 2022
SoNo
International LLC and Ark Capital Equipment LLC have agreed to jointly pay over
$900,000 to the U.S. government to resolve allegations surrounding shipping containers
that were made in China as opposed to government-specified
countries, United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams announced on Thursday.
According
to a Department of Justice (DOJ) release, the companies agreed to jointly pay a
total of $904,000 to the federal government after they allegedly violated the
False Claims Act.
Also
called the “Lincoln Law,” the False
Claims Act was enacted in 1863 in response to defense contractor
fraud during the American Civil War and states that any individual
who knowingly submits false claims to the administration is liable to pay
double the amount in government damages as well as a $2,000 penalty for
each false claim.
As per
the DOJ, the United States Department
of Defense (DoD) contracted for its agencies to materials made
in America or in specified allied countries, such as South Korea.
However, SoNo,
a Connecticut-based equipment trading and specialized consulting firm, and
New York-based Ark both allegedly failed to follow through with that agreement.
Instead,
both companies allegedly had an unnamed third-party company change the
identifying plates on 100 shipping containers made in China to make them look
as if they had been manufactured in South Korea.
On two
other contracts, SoNo’s supplier used Chinese steel,
the DOJ said.
Both
companies also allegedly failed to detect the deception before providing the
containers to the United States military.
“Americans
have the right to know that their tax dollars are being spent to support
American jobs and American policies,” said U.S. Attorney Williams. “When the
Department of Defense purchased this material for our warfighters, SoNo agreed
to acquire material from and support manufacturers in America or our allied
nations. The United States Attorney’s Office is ready to investigate and
punish contractors who do not follow these clear rules.”
SoNo
and Ark, as part of the resolution with the federal government, have
entered into an administrative agreement with the Defense Logistics Agency
establishing “enhanced training and reporting requirements with respect to
government procurement.”
The
Epoch Times has contacted SoNo International for comment but was unable to
reach Ark Capital Equipment.
Meanwhile,
the third-party company that allegedly changed the identifying plates
on the 100 shipping containers has reached a separate agreement with officials
under which it will “provide training to its employees to enhance their
compliance with Customs rules and regulations and improve their awareness of
Buy American and other issues.”
The
joint agreement comes amid ongoing tensions between China and the U.S., which
have been further exasperated by the Chinese military’s “dangerous,
provocative, and unjustified,” actions of building stronger electronic warfare facilities in the disputed
South China Sea.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/two-us-companies-agree-to-pay-900000-over-chinese-made-shipping-containers-provided-to-dod_4198765.html
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