Defendant Tells Jury That Smuggling Allegations Are Based On Bad Blood

David Ji brought the lawsuit U.S. ex rel. David Ji. v. Pacific Chemical International, Inc. et al. as a relator—or whistleblower—alleging that UniChem Enterprises and its owner Tony Hang illegally smuggled “tons” of the food additive glycine from China to the U.S. from 2009 to 2014 without paying anti-dumping duties. An anti-dumping duty is a tariff that the government imposes on foreign imports that it believes are priced below fair market value. Ji alleged that Chinese glycine was subject to an anti-dumping rate of more than 155 percent until 2011, and then more than 453 percent, but UniChem avoided over $11 million in duties by mislabeling its glycine in its customs documents as glucosamine.

Hang testified last week that this is just the latest episode in a long held grudge that Ji—his former employer—harbors against him. According to Hang, Ji previously fired him from his job for taking a vacation, leaving his work visa in jeopardy, then Ji filed a lawsuit against him alleging he stole trade secrets, and then Ji filed a second suit alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Hang accused Ji of trying to ruin his business and get him kicked out of the United States.

Hang and his company previously tried to get Ji’s False Claims Act claims tossed on summary judgment, arguing that Hi had no admissible evidence to support his claims. Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald denied the motion, explaining that the defendants “attempt[ed] to use their invocation of the Fifth Amendment as both a sword and shield, by refusing to participate in discovery, and then moving for summary judgment based on plaintiff's lack of evidence,” and finding that Ji had nonetheless set forth sufficient circumstantial evidence to survive summary judgment and proceed to trial.

May 7, 2019