The US Department of Justice announced Royal Sovereign International Inc., a now-defunct New Jersey company that sold office and home appliances, pleaded guilty to a criminal charge for failing to report information on portable air conditioners that were allegedly linked to more than 40 fires and one death.
The company, which was charged under the Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA) with failing to report immediately the appliances’ problems to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), agreed to a civil settlement that included a $16 million civil penalty, the largest authorized by the CPSA.
Royal Sovereign, which also did business as Royal Centurian Inc., imported and sold more than 33,000 defective air conditioners between 2008 and 2014. The air conditioners had faulty drain motors that could electrically short and cause them to catch fire and burn uncontrollably.
According to the information filed in the case, the company misled the CPSC in November 2010 by telling the agency that it was aware of only two fire incidents related to the air conditioners and that the products had been discontinued. But the government claimed the company was aware of at least 16 fires and continued to distribute the products anyway. According to a 2021 recall notice, a woman died in August 2016 from smoke inhalation and her two children were injured after their Royal Sovereign air conditioner caught fire.
In connection with the guilty plea, Royal Sovereign is required to pay $395,786.48 in restitution to victims.
“Royal Sovereign’s failure to report a deadly defect led to tragedy, including the death of a mother and serious injuries to her children,” said CPSC Acting Chairman Peter A. Feldman. “CPSC will not hesitate to use the full weight of its executive power to pursue violations of the law — including criminal penalties — and we thank our partners at DOJ for helping to bring this company to justice.”
