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Defendants Charged in Nationwide TCCA Import Scheme
Three defendants, Jermoine Jay C. Brantley, Haneef Z. Saleem, and Brian Morris, have been charged in connection with alleged schemes to import from China, fraudulently market, and illegally transport trichloroisocyanuric acid (TCCA), a hazardous chemical, in violation of various U.S. laws and regulations.
According to a 26-count indictment, filed Aug. 27 and unsealed Sept. 9, all three defendants conspired to commit wire fraud to convince customers and potential customers to buy the TCCA. In addition, all three defendants are charged with crimes related to the alleged transportation of the chemical from various U.S. ports to other destinations throughout the United States.
Brantley and Saleem are also charged with conspiring to smuggle the TCCA into the United States, in violation of various laws and regulations. The chemical at issue, TCCA, is a product commonly referred to in the swimming pool industry as chlorine.
The indictment describes how, during the early 2020s, a domestic shortage of TCCA as well as an increase in the tariffs and duties applying to the importation of the chemical from China resulted in a dramatic increase in the price of TCCA in the United States. Brantley and Saleem allegedly took steps to smuggle the product into the country without paying applicable tariffs and duties that would have made the price of the product less competitive.
The indictment alleges Brantley and Saleem avoided tariffs and duties when importing TCCA from China by supplying the wrong import codes to their brokers so that certain duties would not be assessed. At the time, under the applicable tariff schedule for goods imported into the United States, TCCA was subject to significant ‘anti-dumping’ and ‘countervailing’ duties.
Brantley and Saleem allegedly avoided paying these anti-dumping and countervailing duties by supplying their brokers with code numbers that mis-identified the product, identifying it as ‘disinfectant’ and ‘swimming pool disinfectant,’ rather than as TCCA. According to the indictment, Brantley and Saleem caused 66 shipments of TCCA to be imported with codes that did not trigger the applicable tariffs and duties.
The indictment also alleges the defendants falsely represented that they, or their products, were ‘registered with the EPA.’ But the defendants never properly registered with the EPA to import the chemical and attempted to avoid inspections by mislabeling their product with EPA registration numbers for a different manufacturer.
The indictment alleges that customers purchased more than $3.2 million in response to the defendants’ fraudulent representations.
The defendants are scheduled to appear in San Francisco before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex G. Tse, on Sept. 12 to face the charges.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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