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Uh, Obama? Did you miss a zero or two off Samsung's Chinese supplier 'fib' settlement?

No? OK. Tech giant will go ahead and write a $2.3m check

Samsung Electronics America has agreed to settle with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) over claims the company lied about where its products were made.

The DoJ accused Sammy of violating the Trade Agreements Act, which requires gear purchased by the government be sourced either directly from US manufacturers or countries with approved trade agreements.

Samsung allegedly misled resellers, which were supplying kit to the US government, as to where its hardware was coming from: according to the DOJ, Samsung insisted the equipment was manufactured in South Korea and Mexico.

In reality, the DoJ said, for a period running from 2005 to 2013 the electronics giant was shipping equipment to the resellers that had been manufactured in China – a country not approved under the 1979 Trade Agreements Act.

"It is unacceptable to sell unauthorized foreign electronics to the United States,” said Robert C. Erickson, acting inspector general for the General Service Administration.

"We expect all companies doing business with the federal government to comply with contracting laws."

By agreeing to the out-of-court deal, Samsung will not have to worry about being found liable, and the claims made by the DoJ will only be considered allegations.

Samsung declined to comment to The Register on the matter.

The biz, as part of the settlement, will have to cut a check to Uncle Sam for $2.3m – pocket change for Samsung, which despite a 25 per cent drop in profits last quarter was still able to churn out a $7.1bn gain.

The settlement wouldn't even qualify as Samsung's most costly legal payout of the year, as the firm is on the hook for a $119m award to Apple over patent infringement. ®

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