A group of California-based aluminum companies will pay $549.5 million to settle federal allegations that they ran a scheme to dodge antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions imported from China. The Justice Department announced the settlement on May 13, calling it a direct product of President Donald Trump’s America First Trade Policy and a warning to anyone who thinks they can cheat on tariffs.

According to the DOJ, Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC, and four affiliated warehousing companies imported more than 2.2 million aluminum extrusions from China between 2011 and 2014. The companies allegedly spot-welded the extrusions together and presented them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection as finished pallets, claiming they were not subject to duties.

The settlement resolves allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading or conspiring to evade antidumping and countervailing duties owed on aluminum extrusions imported from China. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the case around President Trump’s America First Trade Policy, stating trade laws and tariff payments level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers. The DOJ also emphasized that duty evasion hurts companies that follow the rules and undermines economic security.

Under the settlement, 17.5 percent of the proceeds will be returned to CBP as a payout for whistleblowers who helped uncover the scheme.

This case is not isolated. A jury convicted the Perfectus defendants in 2021 on conspiracy to defraud the United States charges. Following that conviction, six Southern California companies were ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution.

The Justice Department’s earlier announcement described the same underlying conduct: six companies had been ordered to pay $1.83 billion after a jury found they conspired to defraud the U.S. by disguising aluminum as pallets to avoid duties. The criminal case followed a jury verdict, while this May 2026 settlement resolves related civil False Claims Act litigation.

The scheme involved companies taking raw Chinese aluminum extrusions, welding them into pallet-like structures, filing paperwork claiming they were finished goods exempt from duties, and then stripping the material back down to aluminum stock after customs clearance. No customers for the pallets existed, and not a single pallet was sold.

The DOJ’s Trade Fraud Task Force targets tariff and duty evasion that deprives the government of revenue and weakens domestic industries. Each evaded duty dollar represents a direct subsidy to foreign producers and a hit on American companies and workers.

While this civil settlement does not mean every allegation was separately proven at trial, the combination of the 2021 criminal conviction, the $1.83 billion restitution order, and the $549.5 million settlement underscores the severe financial consequences of such schemes.

The Justice Department emphasized that tariff evasion is a betrayal of trade rules designed to protect American manufacturers, jobs, and systemic integrity.