“This case revealed the extent to which some individuals sought to evade the country’s importation laws, while risking the lives of American war fighters in the process," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Today’s sentencing concludes this particular prosecution, and our Office’s commitment to protecting American citizens and industries will continue."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who handled the case, stated the defendant was an importer of specialty metals. Nehill, through his company International Technology Group, Inc., entered into an agreement with Superior Metal Powders to import magnesium powder from China.
At the time of the agreement, the United States had a 305.56% antidumping duty in place with respect to the type of magnesium powder the defendant was importing for Superior Metal Powders from China. In order to avoid the 305.56% antidumping duty the magnesium was falsely labeled as magnesium reagent. By labeling the magnesium as a reagent, the duty imposed on the shipments was only 5%. The mislabeling resulted in $6,246,605 duty loss to the United States. Unbeknownst to the defendant, the imported magnesium was ultimately used to produce countermeasure flares.
Nehill was charged in April 2010 along with Gregory Magness, his son Justin Magness, Charles Wright, and Eldon Bott in a conspiracy to import Chinese magnesium into the United States. All defendants now stand convicted and sentenced.
The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of J. Michael Kennedy, Acting Special Agent in Charge, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Shantelle P. Kitchen, Special Agent in Charge, and the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Craig W. Rupert, Special Agent in Charge, Northeast Field Office.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
