Miami Importer Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Evade U.S. Tariffs on Chinese-Made Truck Tires Publisher: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Florida Dateline: Maimi, Florida Date: 6 December 2024 Subjects: American Government , Crime, Tires, Trucking

MIAMI – Today, Hector Samuel Esquijerosa, 52, a resident of Miami, pled guilty for his participation in a conspiracy to smuggle merchandise into the United States by means of false and fraudulent invoices presented to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency in charge of collecting import duties.

According to court documents, between September 2018 and January 2023, Esquijerosa owned and operated two Miami-based companies in the business of importing tractor-trailer truck tires into the United States, Production Tire Company and Premier Trade Corporation. In court, Esquijerosa admitted that he conspired with others, including brokers, suppliers and wholesalers of truck tires located in China, Canada and the United Kingdom to evade anti-dumping and countervailing duties, or tariffs, applicable to truck tires manufactured in China that his companies illegally imported into the United States and sold to customers in the Southern District of Florida and elsewhere. 

In order to conceal the true origin of the imported truck tires, Esquijerosa and his co-conspirators caused the Chinese-origin truck tires to be transshipped to the United States through third countries, including Canada and Malaysia. Esquijerosa and his co-conspirators would then file, or cause to filed with CBP, documents that falsely and fraudulently represented that the Chinese truck tires originated in countries other than China. In many instances, Esquijerosa and his co-conspirators created two sets of invoices—one that falsely and fraudulently undervalued the truck tires and was presented to CBP for calculation of the appropriate duty, and the second that reflected the actual value of the truck tires. The scheme resulted in a loss of revenue to the United States in excess of $1.9 million.

Esquijerosa pled guilty to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. A sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 24, 2025. Esquijerosa faces a maximum penalty of 5 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from CBP’s Automotive and Aerospace Center of Excellence and Expertise. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aimee Jimenez is prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Raemy Charest-Turken is handling the forfeiture of assets in the case. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 24-cr-20436.

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Public Affairs Unit

U.S. Attorney’s Office

Southern District of Florida

USAFLS.News@usdoj.gov

Updated December 6, 2024