CONCORD, N.H. — A New Hampshire man has pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle plastic resin from China into the United States to evade increased tariffs on Chinese goods, the U.S. Attorney said Thursday.
David Guimond, 48, of New London, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan said in a statement. Chief U.S. District Judge Samantha D. Elliott scheduled sentencing for June 11.
“Trade laws and customs duties exist to protect American businesses, workers, and the integrity of our markets,” Creegan said. “Schemes that falsify country-of-origin information and evade lawful duties undermine fair competition and take money away from the American taxpayer. This office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the public from those who attempt to circumvent our trade laws.”
According to public records, in 2021, Guimond was a shareholder and chief operating officer of Global Plastics and its sister company, Marco Polo International, which are U.S.-based plastic resin distributors.
In February 2021, Winter Storm Uri severely disrupted the domestic resin supply, and as a result, Global Plastics and Marco Polo International began importing resin from countries other than the United States, including China.
At the time, plastic resin originating from China was subject to an additional tariff rate of 25%.
Prosecutors said Guimond instructed and agreed with other employees to input manufacturers and countries of origin other than China on paperwork submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to avoid the additional tariff rate.
Guimond also instructed an employee to repackage plastic resin from bags to boxes that were shipped through Canada to conceal the resin’s country of origin, prosecutors said.
The conspiracy resulted in at least $497,249 of unpaid tariff duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Creegan said.
Guimond faces a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater.
Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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