Forklifts sold to military as ‘made in USA’ were actually from China, feds say

Three men are facing federal charges for selling forklifts to the military that were branded as “Made in the USA” but were actually produced in China, federal officials said.

Federal prosecutors indicted three in an alleged conspiracy to create fake invoices for the machines that helped avoid nearly $1 million in import taxes and violated military contracting rules for U.S.-made equipment, according to Department of Justice officials.

Charges were handed down by a federal jury in Denver, Colorado, in late August against Endless Sales Inc., Octane Forklifts, Inc., and three executives, Brian Firkins, Jeffrey Blasdel, and J.R. Antczak, the DOJ announced in a press release earlier this week. 

According to Federal spending data, the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Defense Logistics Agency paid the companies more than $4 million since 2011, though it’s unclear how much of that business involved re-labeled forklifts. The company also had contracts with other federal agencies like the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security.

Antczak allegedly directed workers to remove decals and inspection tags that showed the forklifts were made in China — a process that prosecutors referred to in the indictment as an attempt to “de-Chinese” or “un-Chinese” the equipment. Workers allegedly replaced the Chinese tags with data plates written in English that displayed an American Flag, implying the machines were assembled in Denver, according to court documents.

Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said the companies and their workers were “engaged in a brazen scheme” to sell the rebranded Chinese-made forklifts to federal agencies under the guise of complying with laws requiring the federal government to buy from domestic sources.

Security concerns over Chinese hardware

The federal charges stemming from the forklifts come amid growing security concerns over imported Chinese goods, particularly in technology and digital products from the country labeled a military adversary to the U.S. 

The case highlights an alleged violation of federal contract laws that favor American companies — a tenet of President Donald Trump’s policy goals. In 2019, the Department of Justice set up a team to combat federal procurement antitrust and fraud cases.

Federal authorities allege that the forklifts were actually produced at a factory in Zhejiang, China, and shipped to U.S. ports in California, Washington and Puerto Rico. U.S. customs agents applied a 25% tariff on the imported forklifts, a levy imposed by the Trump administration in 2018.

The Buy American Act requires that the federal government buy supplies or products from the U.S., but it can be waived if a foreign supplier offers better value. However, the Trade Agreements Act limits purchases from a “designated country,” which China does not qualify for.

To apply for federal contracts, the companies had to certify that their goods complied with those federal laws. The companies included certifications showing that they complied, and the three executives also made statements and representations to government officials that the forklifts were manufactured in the U.S., according to the federal indictment.

The three executives and two companies were charged with wire fraud and conspiring to bring goods into the U.S. under false statements. The men could face 20- and five-year sentences and up to $500,000 in fines.

Blasdel and Firkins are scheduled to appear in court on Thursday, according to the federal court docket.