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 mark.villasenor@usdoj.gov.

          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.

          On January 23, 2023, GREE USA, INC. pled guilty to a one-count information charging it with Failure to Furnish Information Required by 15 U.S.C. § 2064(b), in violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 2068(a)(4) and 2070. The Court has scheduled a sentencing hearing for GREE USA, INC. on April 24, 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.

          On April 24, 2023 Gree USA, Inc was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Dale S. Fischer. Gree USA was ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $500,000.00 in addition to paying restitution according to the restitution procedures in Gree USA’s plea agreement with the government. The Court appointed BrownGreer as Special Master to administer and oversee the restitution process. The Judgment orders that BrownGreer has 120 days from the date of the sentencing hearing (April 24, 2023) to establish procedures by which people and companies can seek restitution and to provide notice of the restitution process. The Court further determined that the process for filing a restitution claim remain open for 180 days after the date of the last notice by BrownGreer.

          June 7, 2023 - Special Master, BrownGreer, has established an e-mail address to which anyone who may have been affected by a defective Gree dehumidifier can direct questions relating to filing a claim for restitution. Please contact Special Master BrownGreer at SpecialMaster@GreeDehumidifierRestitutionProgram.com for further guidance.

          On August 22, 2023, the Claim Form for the restitution process became available on <www.GreeDehumidifierRestitutionProgram.com.

          For those who do not have access to a computer or ability to download supporting documentation, please contact the Special Master via e-mail at www.GreeDehumidifierRestitutionProgram.com or mail a written request to Gree Dehumidifier Restitution Program, P.O. Box 25961, Richmond, VA 23260 and request that a hard copy of the Restitution Claim Form be mailed to you.

          Please note, the deadline for filing a Restitution Claim Form is February 20, 2024.

          For questions related to the Restitution Claim Form or the filing of a claim, please contact the Special Master at www.GreeDehumidifierRestitutionProgram.com.

          Information on any upcoming court hearings or other significant developments in this case will be posted here on this webpage.