What happened
The US Department of Justice is seeking $290 million from a California building-materials importer, Uni-Tile & Marble Inc., and its CEO, Xin Mian Pan, over an alleged scheme to evade US tariffs on Chinese-made goods.
The company allegedly used shell companies, including two registered with stolen identities, to import Chinese kitchen cabinets, countertops, and tiles through Malaysia, while understating their value and misidentifying products to reduce import duties.
A civil complaint filed in the US Court of International Trade accuses Uni-Tile & Marble and Pan of routing Chinese goods through Malaysia and using fake companies to conceal their involvement and avoid import duties.
The complaint covers 503 customs entries from September 2018 through August 2023 and seeks approximately $67.9 million in unpaid duties and $222.5 million in fraud penalties, plus interest.
The government alleges that the company used five US-registered shell companies to import Chinese merchandise, including Green Mountains Trading, Jos Materials, and Uncle John Granite and Marble, which were allegedly registered using stolen identities.
The case follows a separate federal criminal prosecution announced in December 2025, in which Pan and others were charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, smuggling, and customs offenses in connection with an alleged scheme involving approximately 520 shipments and more than $109 million in avoided customs duties.
