A Utah-based apparel company was fined more than $200,000 after the Federal Trade Commission found the company replaced “Made in China” tags with “Made in USA” tags.
In a news release, the agency announced on July 28 that Lions Not Sheep and its owner Sean Whalen must pay $211,335 for falsely claiming their items were made in the U.S. when they were imported from China and other countries.
The news release said the agency voted 5-0 to fine them.
News of the fine comes after the agency filed a complaint in May.
According to the complaint, the agency alleged the company put phony "Made in USA" labels on its clothing.
Along with the fine, under an order from the FTC, Whalen and the apparel company must "stop making bogus Made in USA claims" and "come clean about foreign production."
"Under the order, Whalen and Lions Not Sheep must stop claiming that products are made in the United States unless they can show that the product’s final assembly or processing—and all significant processing—takes place here and that all or virtually all ingredients or components of the product are made and sourced here," the agency said in the news release.
USA Today reported that the company is known for selling pro-Trump and pro-Second Amendment items.
