Potential Victims of GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI, HONG KONG GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES SALES CO., LTD., and GREE USA, INC.

            Charges have been filed against GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI, HONG KONG GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES SALES CO., LTD., and GREE USA, INC. (the Gree Company Defendants), in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California with Case No. 21-CR-498. The charges are based on the Gree Company Defendants’ knowing and willful failure to report information regarding consumer product safety defects, hazards, and risks.

            A related case is United States v. SIMON CHU and CHARLEY LOH, Case No. 19-CR-193, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. SIMON CHU and CHARLEY LOH are former company officers of GREE USA, INC. and face charges related to their alleged knowing and willful failure to report information regarding consumer product safety defects, hazards, and risks. The indictment charging SIMON CHU and CHARLEY LOH is here, and the government webpage for potential victims of those charges is here .

            Defendants GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI, and HONG KONG GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES SALES CO., LTD., have resolved their criminal cases with the government through a deferred prosecution agreement or DPA. GREE USA, INC. has entered into a plea agreement with the government. The information charging the Gree Company Defendants is here. The DPA and plea agreement are here and here.

            The DPA and Plea Agreement have a “Statement of Facts” describing the criminal conduct by the Gree Company Defendants. The Statement of Facts is Exhibit B to the DPA and Plea Agreement. In summary, the Statement of Facts describes how in and around September 2012, the Gree Company Defendants obtained information that reasonably supported the conclusion that their dehumidifiers contained defects that caused them to overheat and catch fire, and created a risk of serious injury and death to consumers who operated the dehumidifiers in their homes and businesses. Despite knowing they were required to immediately inform the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission of the defects and risks, the Gree Company Defendants knowingly and willfully failed to report this information. The Gree defective dehumidifiers were recalled on September 12, 2013. The recall was expanded on January 30, 2014, and re-announced on November 29, 2016. The recall announcements listing the recalled dehumidifiers are here (Initial Recall), here (Expanded Recall) and here (Recall Re-announced). Anyone who still owns a recalled dehumidifier should immediately unplug and stop using it and contact the Gree companies for a full refund as described in the recall announcements.

            If you have been directly and proximately harmed, either through physical injury or financial loss, by a fire or overheating caused by one of the defective Gree dehumidifiers subject to the recall that was announced on September 12, 2013, expanded on January 30, 2014, and re-announced on November 29, 2016, you may be able to make a claim for restitution. The DPA and Plea Agreement provide a procedure for making a claim for restitution. See paragraphs 17-26 of the GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES, INC. OF ZHUHAI, and HONG KONG GREE ELECTRIC APPLIANCES SALES CO., LTD. deferred prosecution agreement and paragraphs 10-19 of the GREE USA, INC. Plea Agreement. The restitution procedure in the agreements will not be available until the Court orders restitution.

            People known to the government who may have been affected by the Gree Company Defendants’ criminal conduct were sent notifications from the Victim/Witness Unit at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. The notifications provided a brief overview of the case, along with instructions on how to set up an account with the Victim Notification System (VNS). If a potential victim wants to continue receiving case-related notifications, they should create a VNS account. Instructions for how to create an account are presented in their notice. For any victim-related inquiries, please email Mark Villasenor at [email protected].

            The government will send notifications related to the United States v. SIMON CHU and CHARLEY LOH case to everyone receiving notifications for this case.

            Judge Dale S. Fischer held two hearings on the GREE USA, INC. Plea Agreement on January 12, 2022, and June 13, 2022. After each hearing, the government and GREE USA, INC. filed a joint statement with information about the Plea Agreement. The first joint statement is here and the second joint statement is here.

            The Court has scheduled a hearing on GREE USA, INC.’s Plea Agreement for January 23, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. This hearing will be held in Courtroom 7D of the Honorable Judge Dale S. Fischer, United States Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012.