SHANGHAI -- DaVinci Furniture was slapped with a 1.33 million yuan (nearly $212,000) fine for selling furniture fraudulently promoted as "Made in Italy," that was actually made in China.

The fine followed an investigation by Shanghai's Industry and Commerce Bureau. In addition to being fined for duping customers to pay higher prices for "substandard furniture" the agency said it would confiscate warehoused furniture related to the scam, according to the China Daily.

According to reports that surfaced last July, DaVinci transported the furniture to Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone before sending it to the company's warehouse in Qingpu District. Shipments were sent to Italy and the United States, among other places, before returning to China with an import certificate.

The customs bureau reported that the import tag increased the price of the furniture 10-fold.