Kenny Holston / UPI / Newscom / The Mega Agency
Two Denver-area companies and three of their top executives have been indicted on federal charges for allegedly importing Chinese-made forklifts, disguising their origin, and fraudulently selling them to U.S. government agencies as American products.
The U.S. Justice Department this week announced the indictment, returned by a grand jury on Aug. 21, names Endless Sales Inc. and Octane Forklifts Inc., along with executives Brian Firkins, Jeffrey Blasdel and former executive J.R. Antczak. Prosecutors allege the group conspired with a Chinese national and a manufacturer in China to create fake commercial invoices that undervalued the forklifts and helped avoid more than $1 million in tariffs, duties and fees.
According to court documents, the forklifts were rebranded and misrepresented as U.S.-made before being sold to federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and FEMA. Firkins, Blasdel and Antczak face individual wire fraud charges in addition to conspiracy counts, while Blasdel is also accused of making false statements to the government…