An actual prosecution over unsafe, defective products with fake certifications. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 03:21:43 am
content: https://www.dailybulletin.com/2025/06/16/former-executives-from-pomona-and-arcadia-get-prison-time-for-selling-fire-prone-dehumidifiers/

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 08:27:30 am
content: It would be so nice not to post links to paywalled articles

author: jonovid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 08:50:58 am
content: screen capture the top of the article & post as an image.

author: Analog Kid
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 09:01:26 am
content: Quote from: jonovid on June 17, 2025, 08:50:58 amOr go to the Wayback Machine and archive it (if it isn't already there).And there's an un-paywallling service out there somewhere on the intertubes, forget the name though.

author: bdunham7
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 01:27:36 pm
content: I did not realize that the article would be paywalled for some users as it is not for me. I've attached a PDF but that has some flaws so I've also pasted in a plain-text version below. This article appeared in regional newspaper in southern California called "The Daily Bulletin".LOS ANGELES — Two Southern California executives were sentenced to prison Monday for their roles in a scheme involving sales of defective and fire-prone Chinese-made dehumidifiers.Simon Chu, 70, of Pomona was sentenced to three years and two months in federal prison and fined $5,000 by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer. The judge in downtown Los Angeles also sentenced Charley Loh, 67, of Arcadia to three years four months in federal prison and fined him $12,000, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.Both men were convicted at trial in November 2023 of conspiracy and failure to furnish information to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The criminal jury in Los Angeles federal court acquitted each defendant of wire fraud.Chu and Loh were, respectively, chief administrative officer and the chief executive officer of Gree USA Inc., an Industry-based subsidiary of a Chinese appliance company that imported, distributed and sold to retailers dehumidifiers for consumer purchase.Federal consumer product safety rules require manufacturers, importers and distributors of consumer products to report immediately to the agency information that reasonably supports the conclusion that a product contains a defect that could create a substantial hazard or creates an unreasonable risk of serious injury or death.The jury found that as early as September 2012, Chu and Loh received multiple reports that their dehumidifiers were defective, dangerous and could catch fire.The executives also knew that they were required to immediately report the product safety information to the CPSC, according to the DOJ.Despite their knowledge of consumer complaints of dehumidifier fires and test results showing problems with the dehumidifiers, Chu and Loh failed to disclose their dehumidifiers’ defects and hazards for at least six months while they continued to sell their products to retailers for resale to consumers, according to the DOJ.The DOJ argued that as part of the scheme, Chu and Loh deliberately withheld information about the defective and dangerous Chinese dehumidifiers from the retail companies that bought the devices; the insurance companies that paid for damage caused by fires resulting from the dehumidifiers; and the CPSC.Loh and Chu continued to sell the Chinese dehumidifiers to retailers with false certifications that the products met safety standards; caused a company employee to solicit materials that would falsely portray to an insurance company that the dehumidifiers were safe and not defective; and sent an untimely report to the CPSC that falsely stated that the dehumidifiers were not defective or hazardous, according to federal prosecutors.Also in 2023, Gree USA was ordered to pay a $500,000 fine after pleading guilty to failing to notify the CPSC that millions of dehumidifiers sold to U.S. consumers were defective and could catch fire.Gree USA pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Consumer Product Safety Act. The fine, along with provisions to pay restitution to victims, was part of a $91 million resolution with three related Gree companies that represented the first corporate criminal enforcement action ever brought under the CPSA, according to the DOJ.Court filings show the Gree companies knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet safety standards and could catch fire. But the companies only reported and recalled the dehumidifiers after consumer complaints of fires.Originally Published: June 16, 2025 at 4:58 PM PDT

author: Haenk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 01:34:43 pm
content: Nice.I guess they would have gotten away in Germany with a light slap on their wrists :/

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 01:38:26 pm
content: are these devices peltier based?

author: ejeffrey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 01:44:28 pm
content: No it looks like they are actual compressor based dehumidifiers. This seems like the product in question:https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2023/Gree-Recalls-1-56-Million-Dehumidifiers-Due-to-Fire-and-Burn-Hazards-Reports-of-At-Least-23-Fires

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 02:34:33 pm
content: Don’t worry: DOGE is in the process of dismantling the CPSC.

author: Simmed
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 03:10:12 pm
content: wow the date ?https://ktla.com/news/nationworld/2-city-of-industry-executives-facing-prison-time-after-selling-dehumidifiers-that-reportedly-catch-fire-doj/by: Nouran SalahiehPosted: Mar 29, 2019 / 03:36 PM PDTUpdated: Mar 29, 2019 / 03:36 PM PDTSimon Chu, 63, of Chino Hills, and Charley Loh, 60, of Arcadia, were charged with a multiple-object conspiracy to commit wire fraud, to fail to furnish information under the Consumer Product Safety Act and to defraud the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. The indictment also charged both defendants with one count of wire fraud and one count of failure to furnish information under the CPSA, the DOJ said.The safety commission announced a recall of 2.5 million dehumidifiers inSeptember 2013, including Chinese dehumidifiers sold by Loh’s and Chu’s companies between September 2012 and April 2013, according to the DOJ.

author: andy2000
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 03:23:43 pm
content: Gree dehumidifiers have been on recall for years. They were giving out refunds for cutting the plug off and mailing it in, even if you're not the original purchaser. I had several affected units which I had acquired second hand, and they gave me around $150-$200 for each one, no questions asked.I believe the issue is that if the system fails for any reason (eg lost refrigerant, or fan failure) the compressor just runs continuously, eventually overheating, and can cause a fire.I'm not sure if it's still the case, but the last time I checked, Gree made most of the dehumidifiers and small AC units in the world. You have to shop carefully to avoid them.

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 17, 2025, 04:55:49 pm
content: Foreign-made products coming into the country that are missing safety agency approvals -we allow it.It's our own fault that there is pretty much zero enforcement or penalty for doing this, and china exploits our weakness.Quote from: TimFox on June 17, 2025, 02:34:33 pmU.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)budgetrequest $213M for 2024 and Congress doesn't seem to put much dollars there. I'm not bashing the USA government, Canada is lame to a greater extent when it comes to unsafe products. But these agencies are doing a minimum, while everyone collects a paycheque.The lawsuit over imported, unsafe multimeters from china - the US laws protected everyone and in the end, it was a nothing burger.

author: MathWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 10:07:58 am
content: So was it greed, letting parts run too hot? or was it some defective part ?

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 04:24:14 pm
content: Fuck, fires were happening for over 10 years! This is what finally got them off their lazy ass to do enforcement2017: "recall... dehumidifiers with brand names Danby, De’Longhi, Fedders, Fellini, Frigidaire, GE, Gree, Kenmore, Norpole, Premiere, Seabreeze, SoleusAir and SuperClima." I see Midea as well.sourcesays 450 fires $19M in damages at 2017.2013: "The firms have received reports of 325 incidents, including 71 fires and $2,725,000 in property damage."sourcepic kinda shows greed+dumbness did it.Two people prosecuted LOL, 3 yr sentences. "First ever"?Two Corporate Executives Found Guilty in First-Ever Criminal Prosecution for Failure to Report Under Consumer Product Safety ActGo china go! Only two fall guys and a small ding with 14 brand names.

author: coppercone2
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 07:45:58 pm
content: I noticed they have very dodgy micro switches that get stuck on, particularly with the bucket pump. They are cheaping out on critical partsI had a compressor unit that had the pump microswitch fail and then the pump got stuck on. I suppose it could have caused a problem if it kept running dry depending on how cheap the pump is

author: floobydust
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2025, 08:39:13 pm
content: The whole thing is farcical. Consumer Reports top choice. Fake UL stickers! What does a reel of those cost. Recalldelaysand sandbagging.The products were overheating for years with no fix. IT'S FINE let the profit roll in - it's the cost of doing business.Failed thermal protector switch with an overheating compressor - but these are in a sealed can. Electrical connections, the control board etc. From the pic, where should I check lol.Engineers go for the cause of the problem, and drive right by the corruption and lack of enforcement and useless regulatory agencies, negligent importers etc.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 03:48:07 am
content: Quote from: andy2000 on June 17, 2025, 03:23:43 pmI also wonder how that is even possible. I have some experience in the vintage refrigeration community, and there, fires from hermetic systems isextremelyrare. It's more common for a bad compressor to seize and trip the circuit breaker. Even in the case of a complete burnout, where the compressor motor shorts to ground, the system stays sealed. Of course, these days it seems the problem is there's too much flammable plastic around everything:https://www.robsonforensic.com/articles/dehumidifier-fires-expert-witnessThe use of flammable "environmentally friendly" refrigerants (R290, R600a, etc.) doesn't help either, and effectively creates a blowtorch once the sealed system bursts from the heat. How good are fires for the environment?

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2025, 05:16:27 am
content: (R290=propane, R600a=isobutane.. looks like most environmentally friendly refrigerants are basically lighter fluid.)