Taiwan LED Manufacturer Agrees to $5.15M Settlement of False Claims Act and Administrative Allegations of Evading Customs Duties

Baltimore, Maryland - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced, today, that Everlight Electronics, a publicly traded Taiwanese company that manufactures light-emitting diodes (LEDs), and Everlight Americas, its Texas-based subsidiary, agreed to pay the United States $5.15 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act, common law, and the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended, by knowingly failing to pay duties owed on LEDs imported from the People's Republic of China.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the settlement with Executive Assistant Commissioner Susan S. Thomas, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of Trade.

"Companies that seek to import goods into the United States must comply with customs laws and pay the rightful duties owed," Hayes said. "As evidenced by this case, we will use all tools available to identify and hold accountable those who commit trade fraud by falsely identifying the country of origin of imported goods to pay lower customs duties than actually owed."

"Trade fraud undermines the U.S. Government's ability to collect the proper revenue, hurts legitimate companies, and puts American consumers at risk," Thomas said. "Trade fraud isn't a victimless crime, and we work around the clock with our partners to ensure that bad actors face consequences."

When entering goods into the United States, an importer must declare, among other things, the country of origin of the goods, the classification of the goods, whether the goods are subject to duties, and pay the amount of duties owed. CBP collects applicable duties, including Section 301 tariffs imposed by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Section 301 tariffs protect U.S. industry by imposing trade sanctions on foreign countries that violate U.S. trade agreements or engage in other unreasonable acts that burden U.S. commerce. During the relevant time period, Chinese-manufactured LEDs were subject to Section 301 tariffs.

The settlement resolves allegations that, from July 2018, through January 2022, Everlight knowingly misrepresented the country of origin on Chinese-manufactured LEDs. More specifically, the U.S. alleged that Everlight knew these products were manufactured in China, and then transshipped to Taiwan, before shipping them to the U.S. Everlight allegedly misrepresented to CBP that the products originated in Taiwan rather than China to avoid paying applicable Section 301 tariffs. The settlement also resolves allegations that, from January 2022, through November 2025, Everlight continued to import LEDs from Taiwan, some of which were manufactured in China based on the country of origin of the dice of the LED, without further segregating the Chinese-made dice from the Taiwanese-made dice during LED manufacturing.

This civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam, or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Tao Wang, a former employee of Everlight. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Relator's share of the proceeds of the settlement will be $876,146. The qui tam action is captioned United States ex rel. Wang v. Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., et al., No. TDC-21-cv-1607 (D. Md.).

On Aug. 29, 2025, the Department of Justice launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force to enhance efforts to combat and prevent trade fraud that deprives the government of vital revenue, threatens critical domestic industries, undermines consumer confidence, and weakens national security. The Task Force augments existing coordination mechanisms within the Department of Justice, leveraging expertise from both the Civil and Criminal Divisions, as well as the Department of Homeland Security, to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy. The Justice Department encourages whistleblowers to utilize the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act to alert the government to credible allegations of fraud.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended CBP for its work in the investigation and providing critical support through the Electronic Center of Excellence and Expertise and the Office of Assistant Chief Counsel, Baltimore Northeast Region. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tarra DeShields and DOJ Trial Attorney Jennifer Chorpening who handled this case.

The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.

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