Investigations

On June 3, 2022, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington ordered Christopher Cox to pay $22,100 in restitution to the victims of a vehicle smuggling scheme. Cox was sentenced in January 2022 after pleading guilty to smuggling illegal goods into the United States and making false statements in violation of the Clean Air Act. Between 2015 and 2019, Cox filed false documentation with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to import vehicles that did not meet Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and Clean Air Act requirements. Cox sold the vehicles without disclosing that they failed to meet Federal standards.

 

DOT-OIG conducted this investigation with Homeland Security Investigations and the Environmental Protection Agency-Criminal Investigative Division.