Appalling acts come in all sizes these days, say, like different boot sizes. It shouldn’t surprise us when greed trumps doing the right thing any more, or even just doing the thing you said you would do. But still. Some things stick in the craw more than others.
Case in point (according to the indictment): When an investment firm took over the American company that supplies boots to the military in 2008, it continued to proudly proclaim the footwear was “Made in the USA,” when, in fact, the company’s new executives farmed out the manufacturing to China, and a lesser extent to Peru and the Dominican Republic, USA Today reported.
A little background: Wellco Enterprises of North Carolina supplied the military with boots since 1965, when it created “jungle boots” for soldiers in Vietnam. The company made billions of dollars with the contract for decades. But in 2008, during the recession, investment firms took over the company and hired Vincent Lee Ferguson of Knoxville as CEO, who moved the headquarters to Morristown, Tenn., and began an “aggressive” push to turn the company’s fortunes around. The company was then made a subsidiary of Tactical Holdings Operation, Inc.
This “aggressive” push turned out to be the plan to lie to the government and citizens about where the boots were being made. Such a cynical crime is a reminder why the TV show “American Greed” simply never runs out of subjects.
CEO Ferguson, 65, and four others, including three family members, are accused of conspiring to defraud the U.S. Department of Defense of more than $8.1 million by marketing its foreign-manufactured “Made in the USA” military-style boots to the government, its contractors and the general public.
The indictment accuses Ferguson of secretly shifting the manufacture of boot “uppers” to China and specifically instructed the Chinese to include the U.S. flag and the term “USA” on the labels before shipping them to Morristown, where the soles were then attached, USA Today reported.
The Chinese manufacturers were instructed to stitch a “tearaway made in China” on the boot upper, which was then removed at the Morristown plant, according to the indictment. Despite these “aggressive” tactics, Wellco and Tactical Holdings declared bankruptcy in 2014. The military then found itself dealing with Original Footwear Holding, Inc., which bought the firm’s assets. The company is major supplier of footwear for police tactical units and is not believed to be part of the conspiracy.
The fake American boots scam trial is set for Nov. 1. If found guilty, it would be appropriate if the executives were sentenced to an American prison, which of course would really be a Chinese prison.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
