Three People Are Convicted for Participating in Fraudulent Export Scheme

Three people were convicted on fraud, money-laundering and smuggling charges after the Justice Department said they created a fake export scheme to make tens of millions of dollars, according to a Feb. 7 press release. Florida resident Johnny Grobman, along with Raoul Doekhie and Sherida Nabi of Suriname, bought U.S. goods at “deeply discounted” prices after they told U.S. manufacturers the products would be shipped overseas as part of a government procurement contract in Suriname. Instead of exporting the goods, the three people sold the items in the U.S. and split the profits, the Justice Department said.

They hid the scheme by exporting fake shipments that did not contain the goods but allowed them to generate documents to prove “that an export had occurred,” the agency said. They also used a “U-turn” method, the Justice Department said, in which they shipped the products abroad before shipping them back to the U.S. They also falsified export shipping documents to show they were exported even though the goods never left the U.S. The products included goods regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, including infant formula, eye-care products and medical devices.