Chinese billionaire indicted for evading $2 Bill. in U.S. tariffs smuggling aluminium into U.S. via Mexico and he faces up to 465 years in prison

Chinese billionaire Liu Zhongtian who founded the aluminum maker China Zhongwang, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he evaded nearly $2 billion in tariffs as part of a conspiracy to evade U.S. tariffs by smuggling China-made aluminum into Mexico and driving them into the U.S. according to the Wall Street Journal.

The indictment, which was reached in May but not unsealed until this week, accuses Liu Zhongtian, founder of Chinese aluminum giant China Zhongwang Holdings Inc., of conspiring to defraud the U.S. through a sprawling scheme spanning the company’s headquarters in Liaoning, China, ports in Los Angeles and a remote desert in Mexico. It alleges that the scheme began in 2008 and has continued to the present day. The company is accused of using the aluminum shipments to inflate its revenue for years, creating the false impression that U.S. demand for its products was strong. China Zhongwang is publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Mr. Liu faces fraud and money laundering charges carrying a prison term of 465 years.