NYPD Raids Purveyor of Fake Fragrances
WWD reports today that six individuals were arrested Tuesday in what may be the first New York City criminal counterfeiting case involving fragrances. The arrests resulted from an NYPD raid on Price Right Perfume and Watches, located at 1205 Broadway in Manhattan. According to WWD, more than 600 bottles of counterfeit fragrances with a retail value of $36,000 were seized including fakes labeled Armani, Ralph Lauren, Chanel, Kenneth Cole, Liz Claiborne and Davidoff. The report quotes an unidentified source as estimating that the store’s inventory had a retail value of close to $3 million, although the portion of this that is counterfeit remains to be determined. The raid was preceded by an investigation sponsored by the Fragrance Foundation and several leading fragrance companies, according to WWD. The industry may have been aided in their efforts to interest law enforcement in the case by the concern that counterfeit fragrances may contain ingredients that are irritating or harmful to consumers.
| Comments (0)Oregon Swapmeet Crackdown Nets 11
The Oregonian reports that 11 people were arrested Saturday, June 9, on charges of selling counterfeit goods, including fake CDs, DVDs, purses, sunglasses and toys, at two swap meets. In what has been called Oregon's biggest counterfeiting raid, police closed the swap meets -- the M&M Swap Meet and Millennium Flea Market -- and seized nearly 51,000 items valued at around $802,000. The owners of the swap meets were not arrested, but police are reportedly asking the city look into revoking their business licenses if it appears that they knew that counterfeits were being sold at their meets. The raids were the culmination of a six month investigation prompted by a tip received by the Beaverton, Oregon police last December. According to the Oregonian, around 20 recording and movie industry investigators came up from California to help police identify counterfeit CDs and DVDs.
The quality of some of the fake CDs and packaging was described as "amazing," leading to speculation that a significant portion of the discs were produced using a million-dollar replication machine that is used by the music industry to manufacture genuine CDs.
| Comments (0)Delaware Man Charged With Dealing in Heroin and Counterfeits
Dover, Delaware police have arrested a man after allegendly making two purchases of cocaine and heroin from him. According to WBOC, a search of the man's home revealed 15 bags of heroin, 7 grams of cocaine, 5 grams of marijuana, several items of drug paraphernalia and counterfeit clothing, movie DVDs and music CDs. The counterfeit items represent 28 different companies, including the National Football League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and various clothing manufacturers, according to the police. The man was charged with two counts of delivery of cocaine, two counts of delivery of heroin, possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, possession with the intent to distribute heroin, possession of marijuana, three counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, three counts of maintaining a dwelling, 28 counts of trademark counterfeiting and two counts of transfer of recorded sounds.
| Comments (0)Man Arrested in Green Bay
This tale, reported by Green Bay Press, describes a scenario not atypical as far as counterfeiting investigations go. According to the paper, Herman Thomas has been charged with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit marks and two counts of possession of recordings with an undisclosed manufacturer following an investigation commenced by Gary Smith, a retired Green Bay police captain turned private investigator. The official investigation began after Smith informed police that he and other investigators had purchased counterfeit Nike shoes from Thomas's store. Smith's investigation, in turn, had been instigated by Nike which asked him to look into the sale of fake Nike shoes in Wisconsin.
Working with another (female) investigator, Smith bought Nike shoes from Thomas's store in September 2006 and sent them to Nike for confirmation they were counterfeit. After this was
Continue Reading | Comments (0)Clothing Counterfeiter Charged with $19 Million Sales
A New York man and his co-conspirators were arrested March 7 and charged with conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit clothing. According to the U.S. Attorney, Abbas Chouman, and his co-conspirators operated a wholesale counterfeit clothing business out of a store in Astoria, New York. The group's customers were asked to pay C.O.D. for their purchases. From December 1, 2004 through September 1, 2006, UPS collected and deposited almost $19 million dollars into the business's bank account from such sales. The Government is seeking to forfeit the contents of the account. The multi-state investigation that led to these arrests was conducted by the FBI, the Virginia State Police, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Henrico County Police Department, the Chesterfield County Police Department and the Richmond Police Department.
| Comments (0)Florida Flea Market Raid
Two men and two women were arrested last weekend at Flea World, a flea market near Orlando, Florida. The raid, conducted by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, also resulted in the seizure of $100,000 in counterfeit merchandise, according to the Orlando Sentinal, including fake Nike shoes and counterfeits of products by Coach, Burberry, Kate Spade, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Prada.
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eBay Trader Arrested in UK
An eBay trader was arrested in London yesterday after an extensive investigation by the Federation Against Copyright Theft. The Metropolitan Police also seized hundreds of pirated DVDs that were awaiting shipment to customers. Click here for more information.
| Comments (0)South Florida Woman Arrested for Wholesaling Fake Watches
South Florida is a hotbed of counterfeiting activity. Fortunately, law enforcement officials here take counterfeiting fairly seriously and, over the last year, have had a series of successes against manufacturers, importers and wholesalers of counterfeit goods.
In the latest raid, the Broward Sheriff's Office (BSO) announced that it arrested Mantin Ng on Thursday after undercover detectives completed one of several buys of counterfeit watches from her. BSO seized 1,986 fake watches from Ng's storage lockers, including counterfeit Rolex, Gucci, Chanel, Cartier and Brietling brands, all made in China.
According to BSO, Ng has been wholesaling counterfeit watches for several years. Her retailer customers sell the fakes to consumers for about $300 each.
Ng, who is charged under Florida law with one count of vending goods or services with counterfeit trademarks was released on $1,000 bond. She faces a maximum jail sentence of five years.
11 Arrested During Atlanta Raid
Eleven men were arrested today in a raid on two warehouses at which federal and local authorities seized pirated CDs and DVDs valued at more than $14 million, disc burners and counterfeit designer sportswear.
According to Associated Press, ten of the men were found hiding in a bathroom. Police had to use stun guns against two of the men who tried to escape.
Pirated CDs and DVDs were apparently sold from rooms in the back of the warehouse.
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