In May 2026, the Department of Justice secured a $549.5 million False Claims Act settlement over evaded customs duties, the largest customs-related FCA resolution in the statute's history. It is the clearest signal yet that tariff compliance is no longer a back-office regulatory matter. It is a fraud risk carrying treble damages, per-claim penalties, and increasingly, criminal charges against the executives responsible.
The False Claims Act, long associated with healthcare and defense procurement fraud, has become the government's primary tool for policing customs violations. A newly formed DOJ Fraud Division, an expanding Global Trade and Commerce Enforcement Section, and a cross-agency task force actively soliciting whistleblowers have made tariff and customs fraud one of the administration's clearest enforcement priorities.
This guide explains how FCA liability applies to tariff fraud, what recent enforcement actions reveal about where the next case originates, and what companies and their leadership need in place before an entry ever draws scrutiny.
Co-chair of Barnes & Thornburg’s
Private Funds and Asset Management Group
Scott Beal
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False Claims Act and
Criminal Enforcement
in the Tariff Context
General counsel and in-house legal teams overseeing trade compliance
Chief compliance officers and trade/customs compliance leads
CFOs and finance executives with import cost exposure
Import/export operations and supply chain management
Boards and audit committees with oversight responsibility for compliance risk
Executives at companies importing from or through high-tariff jurisdictions
Who Should Read This
Inside the Guide
Barnes & Thornburg's Customs, Tariffs, and Imports and White Collar, Compliance and Investigations teams work together to help companies manage the full spectrum of trade enforcement risk — from tariff classification and customs valuation to False Claims Act defense and criminal exposure.
Our International Trade team advises on Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs, antidumping and countervailing duties, forced labor compliance under the UFLPA, and enforcement proceedings before CBP, the Court of International Trade, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Our White-Collar team includes five former U.S. Attorneys and more than 18 former Assistant U.S. Attorneys who understand how the government builds and pursues fraud cases. Together, these practices give clients a single point of contact for compliance, investigations, and defense as tariff enforcement becomes a federal fraud priority.
Practical Guidance for Companies,
Corporations, and Executives
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The FCA framework as applied to tariffs — direct and reverse false claims theories, the SuperValu scienter standard, and why the FCA's 10-year statute of limitations outlasts CBP's own enforcement window
The nine categories of conduct DOJ treats as tariff fraud, from HTS misclassification and undervaluation to forced labor violations and shell-company import schemes
Why civil and criminal exposure now run in parallel, and the RICO, money laundering, and securities law theories that can attach on top of the FCA
The individual liability landscape for executives, including the scenarios DOJ has flagged as triggering personal exposure
A map of every agency now working tariff fraud cases, including the new DOJ Fraud Division and its Global Trade and Commerce Enforcement Section
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Understand the civil, criminal, and executive exposure associated with tariff and customs violations.
Analysis of recent enforcement actions
Red flags that signal a company may already be attracting government attention
A practical roadmap for compliance program design, supply chain due diligence, and self-disclosure strategy
Five appendices, including a model compliance checklist and a step-by-step CID/subpoena response protocol ready to adapt for your organization
About Our Team