Colorado companies, execs charged in Chinese forklift scheme tried to avoid $1M in tariffs, feds say

Two Denver-area companies face federal wire fraud charges in a scheme to sell imported Chinese forklifts to the federal government as American-made equipment, according to an indictment released Tuesday.

Endless Sales and Octane Forklifts, along with current executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel and former executive J.R. Antczak, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on Aug. 21, Department of Justice officials announced this week.

According to the indictment, Octane’s main business was buying forklifts made in China, rebranding them as American-made and selling them through Endless Sales to local, state and federal government clients.

The scheme started in Aug. 2018 and continued until at least July 2024. Investigators say the companies and executives also worked with a Chinese manufacturer to create fake invoices that undervalued the imported forklifts to avoid paying more than $1 million in tariffs and fees.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph V. Cuffari said the companies told the forklifts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Defense while claiming to comply with the Buy American Act.

“It is especially reprehensible that this alleged fraud involved a FEMA contract using disaster funds,” Cuffari said.

Both companies and Firkins, Blasdel and Antczak were indicted for conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to enter goods into the United States by means of false or fraudulent statements, federal officials said.

Firkins, Blasdel and Antczak also face charges of wire fraud, and Blasdel is charged with making false statements to the government.

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