San Diego Broker Duty Evasion Scheme Coconspirator Sentenced to 27 Months in Prison
A Los Angeles man was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in a duty evasion conspiracy that also brought down former San Diego Customs Brokers Association President Gerardo Chavez, said the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California. Sunil Jiwat Mirwani and his company M Trade were convicted in June of evading customs duties on more than $30 million in Chinese-made wearing apparel, after a one-week jury trial. Mirwani will also have to forefeit $30,000 in cash, and an inventory of over 220,000 pairs of blue jeans valued at over $1 million.
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The court found Mirwani participated in a scheme to avoid paying duties by diverting goods moving in-bond to Mexico into U.S. commerce. Mirwani and his coconspirators, including Chavez, would import goods apparel like jeans, shorts, and skirts to the Port of Long Beach. Other goods imported as part of the larger conspiracy included cigarettes, snack foods, and salmonella-infected product. After bypassing the duty payments by declaring the shipments to be moving in-bond to Mexico, including with the use of forged documents, the goods were transported to several southern California warehouses, said the attorney’s office and court documents. Mirwani, Chavez, and others were charged in 2013 (see 12072626). Chavez was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role (see 13070525). Two defendants -- Joel Erasmo Varela Gonzalez and Jose Porter -- are fugitives and remain at large, the attorney’s office said.