Federal officials announce charges in two major customs fraud investigations tied to the Chicago area.

Theft/Property — Chicago, IL — reported 2026-07-15

SUMMARY

Two companies and their owners were charged with allegedly evading customs duties on gold jewelry imports.

KEY FACTS

• Incident type: Theft/Property
• Location: Chicago, IL
• Date reported: 2026-07-15
• Suspect: not stated
• Status: arrest/charge

REPORTED DETAILS

• The charges are allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
• Prosecutors allege the company imported approximately 563 shipments of jewelry valued at more than $693 million between 2020 and 2024 while avoiding more than $38 million in customs duties.
• Separately, prosecutors charged Narain Gulabani, owner of Barkha Wholesale in Naperville, alleging he falsely declared the country of origin for imported gold jewelry between 2016 and 2021.
• Prosecutors said the jewelry was valued at more than $240 million, allowing the company to avoid approximately $13.6 million in customs duties.