ATLANTA (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a company headquartered in suburban Atlanta was involved in a scheme to avoid paying an import tax on notebooks and loose-leaf paper from China.
A grand jury has indicted four people and five companies in the case. Defendant Jennifer Chen, chief financial officer for Apego, Inc., pleaded not guilty Monday. The other defendants are believed to be in China and Taiwan.
Prosecutors say Apego imported cheap paper products made in China but made it look like they came from Taiwan by falsifying records and bribing officials.
The U.S. imposes an import tax on lined paper products from China after finding certain products were being sold in the U.S. for less than fair market value. But there are no such duties on lined paper products from Taiwan.
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