Denver companies indicted in $1 million tariff evasion scheme to sell U.S. government Chinese forklifts as American-made

Two Denver-area companies and the companies’ top executives were indicted in connection with a scheme to evade tariffs by misrepresenting Chinese-made forklifts as American-made.

Endless Sales Inc. (Endless), Octane Forklifts, Inc. (Octane), current executives Brian Firkins and Jeffrey Blasdel, and former executive J.R. Antczak were each indicted on charges of conspiring to commit wire fraud on August 21, 2025, by a federal grand jury in Denver, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials say that the defendants “allegedly conspired to import forklifts from China, disguise the Chinese origin of the forklifts, and then sell the forklifts to federal government agencies by fraudulently representing the forklifts as being manufactured in the United States.”

The indictment also accuses Endless, Octane, Firkins, Blasdel, and Antczak of “conspiring with an unnamed Chinese national and a Chinese manufacturer to create fake commercial invoices that fraudulently undervalued the cost of forklifts that Endless and Octane imported into the United States, thereby defrauding the government of over $1 million in applicable tariffs, duties, and fees.”

Firkins, Blasdel, and Antczak face additional wire fraud charges.

Blasdel faces an additional charge of making false statements to the government.

If convicted, the individuals face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

“Defrauding the United States to profit from goods made in adversarial nations like China undermines our economic and national security,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Justice Department is committed to protecting American taxpayer dollars, defending our national security against those who would undermine it, and holding accountable anyone who pursues illegal profits over our country.”

“Defendants fraudulently hid the origins of the products they sold the government and conspired to avoid paying tariffs,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force and its law enforcement partners will continue to prosecute and hold accountable those who seek to fraudulently obtain taxpayer funds.”

“Today’s indictments are the result of the collaboration among the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) and our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who seek to violate America’s trade laws to enrich themselves,” said Acting Inspector General Steve Stebbins of the Department of Defense. “DCIS remains committed to safeguarding the integrity of the DoD contracting process.”