BLAINE, Wash. – A Blaine auto broker accused of skirting customs laws has reached a settlement deal with the federal Department of Justice.

U.S. Attorney Nick Brown says that a former employee of BidBuy Auctions filed a federal fraud lawsuit against the company in 2021.

The lawsuit claimed that BidBuy’s owner undervalued vehicles the company bought at auctions in Canada when bringing them over the border.

He did so to lower duty fees on certain imported vehicles that jumped significantly in 2020 after the U.S. exited NAFTA.

BidBuy owner Whitney McElroy has agreed to pay $430,000 to settle the allegation.

Under the law, the employee who alerted the government will receive 23% of that settlement.