Denver Firms Charged With Selling Chinese Forklifts as “Made in USA”

By Heather Willard | KDVR Fox31

DENVER (KDVR) — Two Denver-area companies and three of the businesses’ top executives are facing federal charges for allegedly defrauding the government on sales of forklifts and trying to dodge tariffs on equipment imported to the U.S.

According to a federal grand jury indictment and the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Public Affairs, the two companies involved were Endless Sales Inc. and Octane Forklifts, Inc., which both appear to have addresses on Lima Street in Denver.

The indictment alleges that current company executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel, as well as former executive J.R. Antczak, conspired to import forklifts from China and then conceal the trucks’ foreign origin. Once disguised, the group would sell the forklifts to federal agencies — including the Department of Defense and Federal Emergency Management Agency — and represent the trucks as being “made in America.”

“Intentionally violating the Buy America Act to defraud the US Government, isn’t just a legal issue, it is a demonstration of complete disregard for US law and the safety and security of our US military,” said Special Agent in Charge Derek Tilton of the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division in the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs release. “The US Army will not tolerate contract fraud and will vigorously pursue all available legal recourse.”

The grand jury indictment also accuses the two companies and three executives of conspiring with a Chinese person and a Chinese manufacturer to fabricate invoices that undervalued the imported forklifts, thereby allegedly defrauding the government of over $1 million in tariffs, duties and fees.

“Defrauding the United States to profit from goods made in adversarial nations like China undermines our economic and national security,” said U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in the DOJ’s Office of Public Affairs release. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting American taxpayer dollars, defending our national security against those who would undermine it, and holding accountable anyone who pursues illegal profits over our country.”

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