Two former corporate executives from Southern California have been sentenced to more than three years in prison for failing to report defective dehumidifiers linked to hundreds of fires to the public safety agency.
Simon Chu, 70, of Pomona, and Charles Loh, 67, of Arcadia, were executives of Gree USA, a subsidiary of China-based appliance company Gree Electric Appliances. According to federal prosecutors, in September 2012, the two defendants
received several reports that their China-manufactured dehumidifiers were defective and could catch fire, but they chose not to report the issue to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
Chu and Loh continued to sell the dehumidifiers for “at least six months” to retailers, prosecutors said, before reporting to the CPSC.
Gree did not start
recalling its defective humidifiers until September 2013. In a
recall note issued in 2016, Gree noted that around 450 fires and $19 million in property damage had been tied to its dehumidifiers. Another recall
note was issued in August 2023.
In a jury trial in November 2023, Chu and Loh were
found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud the CPSC and one count of failure to furnish information as required by the Consumer Product Safety Act, according to a Justice Department press release.
On June 16, Judge Dale Fischer of the Central District of California sentenced Chu to 38 months in federal prison and fined him $5,000, while Loh received a sentence of 40 months in federal prison and a fine of $12,000.
“These Chinese-made products were hazardous, and the defendants knew it,” CPSC Acting Chairman Peter Feldman
said in a statement. “Today’s sentences are a clear message that the CPSC will take a hard line against executives who break American laws and endanger families.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California
said the case marks the first-ever criminal prosecution for failing to report to the CPSC under the Consumer Product Safety Act.
“Corporate executives who choose to ignore the law will be held accountable—especially when death and serious injuries result,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California
said in a June 16 statement.
“By putting profits over the safety of others, these defendants created serious risks to consumers, and we will continue to prosecute those who endanger the public.”
Gree USA was
sentenced in 2023 to pay a $500,000 criminal fine after pleading guilty to failing to alert the CPSC about its defective dehumidifiers.
“The fine, along with provisions to pay restitution to victims, was part of a
$91 million criminal resolution with Gree USA, Gree Zhuhai and another related Gree company, Hong Kong Gree Electric Appliances Sales Co. Ltd.,” prosecutors
said at the time.
As part of its plea agreement, the Gree companies
acknowledged selling more than 2 million dehumidifiers in the United States between 2007 and 2013.
The CPSC issued a
warning about Gree dehumidifiers in August 2023, telling consumers to check if their models have been listed in recalls.
“There have been reports of four deaths potentially associated with Gree dehumidifiers, all involving adults who died from house fires that may have been caused by recalled dehumidifiers. One death occurred in 2016 in Ohio. Another death occurred in 2022 in Iowa. Two more deaths occurred in 2022 in Missouri,” the CPSC wrote.
The commission noted that the recalled dehumidifiers have been sold at stores nationwide, including Home Depot, Lowe’s, Sam’s Club, and Walmart, as well as online sites such as Amazon and eBay, between January 2005 and January 2014.
The Epoch Times contacted Chu and Loh’s lawyers for comment but didn’t receive a response by publication time.
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