US appeals court rejects whistleblower tariff fraud claims against Amazon

A US national appeals tribunal has upheld the dismissal of a whistleblower suit that accused Amazon of helping overseas fur sellers debar customs duties and import inspection fees connected its marketplace.

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling connected 20 May 2026, supporting a little tribunal determination that struck retired the qui tam lawsuit brought by relators Mike Henig and Henig Furs nether the False Claims Act.

The relators alleged that overseas fur merchandise manufacturers utilizing Amazon’s level had submitted reverse mendacious claims to the US Government implicit 15 years.

According to the lawsuit, shipment values were understated connected customs declarations to trim tariff assessments by US Customs and Border Protection.

The lawsuit besides alleged that required US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) inspection forms were near out, oregon that shipments were sent done ports without FWS facilities to debar inspection fees.

Amazon was accused of knowingly enabling the behaviour and conspiring with the manufacturers.

The appeals tribunal rejected liability nether each 3 recognised grounds of the False Claims Act: existent knowledge, deliberate ignorance, and reckless disregard.

On existent knowledge, the tribunal said nary idiosyncratic oregon entity astatine Amazon had been shown to person consciously acknowledged mendacious accusation successful the shipments.

It besides recovered that the company's continued dealings with the manufacturers matched mean commercialized behaviour and did not amusement consciousness of fraud.

On deliberate ignorance, the tribunal said the relators had not alleged that Amazon took intentional steps to debar learning of the mendacious claims.

It besides rejected the statement that below-market fur prices should person raised suspicion.

The tribunal recovered nary ground to reason that Amazon compared third-party pricing with competitors oregon would person linked debased prices to tariff avoidance alternatively than economies of standard oregon decreased labour costs.

On reckless disregard, the tribunal recovered nary ground to deem Amazon unreasonable for not checking customs declarations against shipment invoices.

It noted determination was nary allegation that this was modular manufacture practice. The conspiracy assertion was besides dismissed.

Under Amazon’s modular concern services agreement, third-party sellers are liable arsenic the importer of grounds for filing import documents and paying assessed duties, taxes, and fees, and Amazon is explicitly excluded from that role.

The archetypal dismissal was issued by Judge Edgardo Ramos of the Southern District of New York connected 3 January 2025.

Earlier this month, US consumers launched a projected people enactment against Amazon successful national tribunal successful Seattle, claiming the retailer unlawfully passed connected tariff costs totalling hundreds of millions of dollars.