Smuggler, US Request 3 More Months for Settlement; Say Agreement Almost Finalized
A convicted smuggler of dangerously bright headlights filed status reports Sept. 17 in two civil cases for which he and the United States have been in ongoing settlement negotiations, requesting three more months to “finalize” their agreements (United States v. Chu-Chiang "Kevin" Ho, CIT # 19-00102 and -00038).
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In his reports, filed with the knowledge and consent of the U.S., defendant Chu-Chiang “Kevin” Ho said his total liability hasn’t yet been set. He said the parties have held multiple meetings recently, and that “[a]ll counsel believe that the parties have arrived at a principled proposal which all parties anticipate and hope will lead to a final resolution of both the civil and criminal matters.”
The government has said it's seeking penalties of over $2.9 million from Ho, Wintis Corp., Ship Communications, Aelis Nova and Maderdove, claiming Ho intentionally misclassified imported headlight conversion kits (see 2303230059).
Ho was released from prison a little over a year ago. Settlement negotiations have been ongoing since before his release (see 2409170038).