Owner Of New Jersey Company Admits to Evading U.S. Customs Duties and His Company Agrees to a $3.1 Million Settlement Agreement

 

The owner of a New Jersey company admitted mislabeling hazardous chemicals entering the United States and evading customs duties, DEA New Jersey Field Division Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz and U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

George Volpe, 60, of Roseland, New Jersey, owner of Penta International Inc. (Penta), pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in Newark federal court to an information charging him with wire fraud. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 13, 2024. The company also agreed to a civil settlement to resolve allegations that Penta evaded customs duties and caused the mislabeling of chemicals imported into the United States from China.

Penta is a New Jersey-based company run by Volpe and his family. Volpe admitted that, from January 2016 through August 2021, as the manager and owner of Penta, he participated, in a scheme to defraud, through which he caused mislabeled chemicals, including hazardous chemicals, to enter the United States from China. The fraudulent scheme resulted in an underpayment of U.S. Customs duties in the amount of $1.4 million.

As part of the civil settlement with the United States to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act, Penta has agreed to pay $3.1 million plus interest. The civil claims alleged that Penta representatives conspired with a Chinese vendor to mislabel chemicals entering the United States and to use falsified documents submitted to Penta’s customs brokers. As part of the settlement, Penta admitted that it mislabeled substances in connection with their importation to the United States.

The civil settlement with Penta resolves a lawsuit filed under the whistleblower provision of the False Claims Act, which permits private parties, called relators, to file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The relator, Angel Figueroa, will receive $600,000 of the $3.1 million civil settlement amount recovered by the United States pursuant to the False Claims Act.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Field Operations officers under the direction of port director TenaVel Thomas; auditors with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Office of Trade Regulatory Audit under the direction of Field Director Roderick “Rick” Lawlor; and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz of the New Jersey Field Office, with the investigation.