pany “knew or should have known” it was being investigated
by the time it disclosed the violations. Taking all of these fac-
tors into account, including the gravity of Ford’s conduct, the
Court determined that $3 million was a just penalty in this
case.
U.S. v. FORD MOTOR COMPANY,
SLIP OP. 05-87 (FORD II)
The second decision involved many of the same issues in
Ford I. In this parallel case, Customs sought to collect duties
and penalties arising out of entries of vehicles and compo-
nents imported between 1987 and 1992. Customs sought
unpaid duties in the amount of $68,178 and penalties in the
amount of $34,576,559 for gross negligence, or in the alter-
native, $17,288,279 for simple negligence.
Again, Ford’s problems were the result of omissions in
the ...