SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — Following a lengthy federal investigation, a Southern California customs broker pleaded guilty last week to defrauding his clients — businesses who ship goods into the United States from foreign countries — out of more than $5 million, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.
Frank Seung Noah, 64, of Corona pleaded guilty Friday to one count of tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count and up to five years in federal prison for the tax evasion count. U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton scheduled a May 8 sentencing hearing.
According to his plea agreement, Noah owned and operated Comis International Inc., a Cerritos-based logistics and supply-chain company that offered customs import brokerage services.
Comis was a customs import broker for Daiso, a popular Japan-based variety and value store with locations across the United States, including Southern California. In June 2024, Daiso celebrated the grand opening of a location at Menifee’s Town Center Marketplace, 30099 Haun Road. The 5,870-square-foot store features low-priced, quirky Japanese-inspired home decor, stationery, beauty items, food, and other products.
According to federal prosecutors, from 2007 to 2019, Noah provided Daiso with false customs duty forms and invoices to support his fraudulent requests for duty fee reimbursement. The forms differed from those Noah submitted to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. He inflated the numbers, resulting in Daiso overpaying Noah nearly $3.4 million.
After Noah was indicted in 2022 for defrauding Daiso, he continued scamming his other clients out of more than $2 million using a different scheme. Prosecutors said he ripped off two other clients by invoicing and receiving funds from their companies and then pocketing the money instead of paying the customs duties to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
After Customs and Border Protection notified the victims about their unpaid customs duties, they asked Noah about the situation, and he sent them altered bank statements falsely reflecting that he had paid the customs duties, according to prosecutors.
Noah also failed to pay federal taxes, resulting in an IRS loss of approximately $2.4 million. Penalties and interest continue to accrue.
After agreeing with the IRS in 2014 that he owed more than $1 million in taxes, Noah actively avoided IRS attempts to collect the money.
Instead, he paid for two homes in his former girlfriend’s name. He used check-cashing businesses to avoid IRS levies on his bank accounts, lied to IRS collection agents, and spent thousands of dollars on country club memberships, travel and golf purchases, according to prosecutors.
