Contractor sold U.S. military ‘American’ goods made in China
Officials announced on Thursday that a Hampton-based U.S. defense contractor and four of its employees were sentenced for engaging in an extensive procurement fraud scheme.
The scheme involved millions in government contracts that targeted the U.S. Department of Defense and other federal government agencies.
David sends.
(Not) made in the USA: Defense contractor sold U.S. military ‘American’ goods that were made in China
The contractor provided everything from swimming trunks for West Point cadets to spools of concertina wire, all made in China, prosecutors said
By Lukas I. Alpert
It was as far from “Made in the USA” as you can get.
A Virginia-based defense contractor has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison for selling more than $7 million in goods to the U.S. military that were labeled as having been made in the USA but were actually manufactured in China, the Department of Justice said.
Beyung S. Kim, 62, of Newport News, Va., the owner of Iris Kim Inc., admitted that he had imported items from China for years but then cut off their Made in China tags and replaced them with labels that said Made in the USA before selling the items to various branches of the military.
Kim’s company provided goods ranging from swimsuits for cadets at West Point and promotional T-shirts for the Army’s stunt parachute team, the Golden Knights, to water bottles emblazoned with the logo for the Marine Corps. The company also procured T-shirts for the National Guards of Indiana, North Dakota and Arkansas as well as spools of concertina wire and wire ropes for the Coast Guard.
In all, the company signed dozens of contracts with the Department of Defense between 2011 and 2018 worth $24 million. Prosecutors say Kim would procure the goods from China and have them shipped to a warehouse in the U.S. He then enlisted the help of a labelling firm to remove all trace of the items’ origin and relabel them as being Made in the USA.
Cheap Chinese counterfeit parts can’t meet engineering specifications and will fail, with potentially deadly results. Like having a mooring line unexpectedly part under tension. Scary and it happens fast.
Hang the bastards.
Thanks, David.
Category: China, Crime, Guest Link
Only 5 years in prison for defrauding WE, the taxpayers, out of $7 million. And worse possibly the lives of the service personnel depending on these cheap knockoffs.
How about at least one year per $100,000? Although in my mind life without would be appropriate.
It could be because of personal connections OR he has someone who owes him and called in a favor.
Word! Sparks. My thoughts too. I think one of the reasons there is so much nefarious activities going on is there is NO real punishment for such. If I knew I had a few millions rat holed in an offshore, untouchable account, I could probably do a few years at the fed Country Club with no problem. Yeah, part of the sentence was restitution of 7 some odd millions, but (a) will he ever pay it back and (b) how many millions does he have rat holed?
I kinda like ‘Ed’s suggestion…”Hang the Bastards”…with the smallest diameter wire rope the Puddle Pirates bought…wrapped inside the concertina wire. And get the rest of them that assisted in this endeavor. The relabeling company had to know something hinky was going on. This is probably just the tip of the iceberg.
Who says crime doesn’t pay. Defrauding the federal government is the easiest white collar crime to commit. This is especially true if you are in cahoots with some swamp-rats and you make sure there is 10% for the The Big Guy. Then, the DOJ will never prosecute you. These crooks are going to jail cuz they didn’t pay $700K to The Big Guy and also let other family members “wet their beaks.”
As the old saying goes, just because it’s OD green and says United States Army on it means that the lowest bidder gets the job but in this case, all I can say is I’ll be a Monkeys Uncle after reading this.
Just like in War Dogs… as inspired by a true story:
All made in China?
😎👍 One of my fav scenes…That and a few Steve Buscemi lines too – Armageddon was a decent Bruckheimer-ride
Percussive maintenance.
Yeah, I owned Brit motorcycles.
Repugnant and utterly traitorous. All for Kim’s personal wealth. Understand what you’re saying Sparks. Wouldn’t want him for a neighbour. Ever. Anywhere. Owing to his apparent allegiance – his wealth and himself – in my eyes, he’s just forfeited his freedom and really ought assume permanent residency in a contractor-run, Federal prison. Buffy Sainte-Marie was right when she sang – The Big One’s Get Away.
Buffy Sainte-Marie – The Big One’s Get Away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5o8gwt26To
Canadian First Nations (Cree) folk singer –
https://www.cbc.ca/music/read/buffy-sainte-marie-75-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-canadian-icon-1.5010129
But it was okay when Shinsucki had us buy Chicom black berets!
Wait. We issue swim trunks to West Point cadets?
Made in China shit needs no label. It is quite obvious once you hold it your hands.