A former customs broker who defrauded businesses that ship goods into the United States out of more than $5 million and dodged paying at least $1 million in taxes is expected to be sentenced Thursday in downtown Los Angeles.
Frank Noah, 64, of Corona, pleaded guilty in February 2025 to one count of tax evasion and two counts of wire fraud.
Noah owned Comis International Inc., a logistics and supply-chain company headquartered in Cerritos. Comis was a customs import broker for the national Daiso chain — a Japan-based variety and value store with outlets in Southern California — from 2007 through 2019.
Noah admitted inflating customs import duty fees he paid while billing Daiso, resulting in the company overpaying Noah nearly $3.4 million.
After Noah was indicted for defrauding Daiso in 2022, he continued to defraud other clients out of more than $2 million using a different scheme, according to his plea agreement filed in Los Angeles federal court.
Noah also acknowledged causing a loss to the Internal Revenue Service of nearly $2.4 million by cheating on his taxes from 2008 to 2010, making partial payments for what he owed while using his income to make large payments on mortgages he put in the name of his girlfriend for properties in Corona and Rancho Mirage.
After agreeing with the Internal Revenue Service that he owed more than $1 million in taxes in 2014, Noah avoided IRS attempts to collect the amount owed, and spent thousands of dollars on country club memberships, travel and golf purchases, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.