Representative image / Pexels

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Indian-origin business owners Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli with allegedly evading more than $38 million in U.S. customs duties by falsely declaring the country of origin of hundreds of shipments of imported gold jewelry, according to an announcement released July 14.

The charges, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, allege that Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli, who operate Surya International Inc., a gold jewelry importer and wholesaler based in South San Francisco, California, falsely declared that gold jewelry imported into the United States originated in Singapore rather than its actual countries of origin, India and the United Arab Emirates.

ALSO READ: FBI hunts for Indian national in transnational crime

The case was announced as part of a broader Justice Department update marking the first year of the Trade Fraud Task Force, which said it has surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures and publicly charged losses since its launch in August 2025 with the Department of Homeland Security.

According to prosecutors, between approximately August 2020 and May 2024, Surya International, together with foreign manufacturers and other U.S. entities, imported approximately 563 shipments of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Singapore.

Federal authorities allege the false declarations enabled the company to avoid paying customs duties ranging from 5.5% to 5.8% of the declared value of the imported jewelry. The shipments had an estimated total value of more than $693 million, resulting in the alleged avoidance of more than $38 million in U.S. customs duties.

The Justice Department said the Northern District of Illinois has been selected as the Trade Fraud Task Force's lead prosecutorial partner, and that the Chicago cases helped the task force surpass the $1 billion enforcement milestone.

Separately, prosecutors also charged Narain Gulabani, owner of Barkha Wholesale Inc. in Naperville, Illinois, with allegedly falsely declaring the country of origin of imported gold jewelry. Authorities allege that between approximately May 2016 and October 2021, Gulabani imported about 242 shipments that were falsely declared as originating in Oman or Singapore instead of their true origins, avoiding more than $13.6 million in customs duties on jewelry valued at more than $240 million.

Announcing the milestone, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said, "For too long, fraud actors have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing business."

"By utilizing the Department's full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime," McDonald said. "This billion-dollar milestone demonstrates that the United States and the National Fraud Enforcement Division will no longer allow the integrity of our country's borders and markets to be compromised for illicit profit."

The Justice Department said the Trade Fraud Task Force investigates alleged customs fraud involving misrepresentations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including transshipment, mislabeling and false declarations. The task force focuses on cases involving tariff evasion, antidumping and countervailing duties, forced labor in global supply chains and imported goods that threaten public health and safety.

Discover more at New India Abroad.

The U.S. Department of Justice has charged Indian-origin business owners Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli with allegedly evading more than $38 million in U.S. customs duties by falsely declaring the country of origin of hundreds of shipments of imported gold jewelry, according to an announcement released July 14.

The charges, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, allege that Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli, who operate Surya International Inc., a gold jewelry importer and wholesaler based in South San Francisco, California, falsely declared that gold jewelry imported into the United States originated in Singapore rather than its actual countries of origin, India and the United Arab Emirates.

ALSO READ: FBI hunts for Indian national in transnational crime

The case was announced as part of a broader Justice Department update marking the first year of the Trade Fraud Task Force, which said it has surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures and publicly charged losses since its launch in August 2025 with the Department of Homeland Security.

According to prosecutors, between approximately August 2020 and May 2024, Surya International, together with foreign manufacturers and other U.S. entities, imported approximately 563 shipments of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Singapore.

Federal authorities allege the false declarations enabled the company to avoid paying customs duties ranging from 5.5% to 5.8% of the declared value of the imported jewelry. The shipments had an estimated total value of more than $693 million, resulting in the alleged avoidance of more than $38 million in U.S. customs duties.

The Justice Department said the Northern District of Illinois has been selected as the Trade Fraud Task Force's lead prosecutorial partner, and that the Chicago cases helped the task force surpass the $1 billion enforcement milestone.

Separately, prosecutors also charged Narain Gulabani, owner of Barkha Wholesale Inc. in Naperville, Illinois, with allegedly falsely declaring the country of origin of imported gold jewelry. Authorities allege that between approximately May 2016 and October 2021, Gulabani imported about 242 shipments that were falsely declared as originating in Oman or Singapore instead of their true origins, avoiding more than $13.6 million in customs duties on jewelry valued at more than $240 million.

Announcing the milestone, Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald said, "For too long, fraud actors have viewed customs violations as a mere surcharge or cost of doing business."

"By utilizing the Department's full weight, we are making it clear that trade fraud is a serious economic crime," McDonald said. "This billion-dollar milestone demonstrates that the United States and the National Fraud Enforcement Division will no longer allow the integrity of our country's borders and markets to be compromised for illicit profit."

The Justice Department said the Trade Fraud Task Force investigates alleged customs fraud involving misrepresentations to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including transshipment, mislabeling and false declarations. The task force focuses on cases involving tariff evasion, antidumping and countervailing duties, forced labor in global supply chains and imported goods that threaten public health and safety.

Discover more at New India Abroad.