Three Indicted on Software Piracy Charges After BSA-Assisted Investigation
Three Lakeland, Florida, men -- Maurice A. Robberson, Thomas K. Robberson and Alton Lee Grooms -- were indicted in the Eastern District of Virginia Thursday on charges of conspiring to sell more than $5 million in pirated software. The indictments followed a lengthy investigation by the FBI's Washington Field Office prompted by software copyright owners' complaints about sales of pirated software at the website BuysUSA.com. The investigation, which was assisted by the Business Software Alliance, uncovered a slew of other related websites that also sold counterfeit software. In October 2005, seven search warrants were executed in Florida on residences and businesses associated with the conspiracy. In June 2007, Danny Ferrer, an alleged associate of the recently-indicted Florida men, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and copyright infringement charges and was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Thursday's indictment alleges that, from late 2002 through October 2005, the three defendants conspired with Ferrer to sell more than $5 million in counterfeit copyrighted software through the websites BuysUSA.com, CDSalesUSA.com, AmericanSoftWareSales.com, TheDealDepot.net, and BestValueShoppe.com. The counterfeits included products from Adobe Systems Inc., Autodesk Inc., and Macromedia Inc. According to the Justice Department press release, the defendants have been charged with one count each of conspiracy to violate copyright and counterfeiting laws. Maurice Robberson was also charged with a substantive count of felony copyright infringement and one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, while Thomas Robberson was charged with one substantive felony count of copyright infringement and two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
| Comments (0)Police Blotter
A Houston couple, Zhuo Min Xie and Hsiu Chu Chu, were indicted by a grand jury April 18 on charges of conspiracy and trafficking in fake designer goods, reports the San Antonio Express News. According to the report, the couple has already forfeited more than 11,000 counterfeit purses, handbags, wallets and other items, as well as about half of $700,923 that was seized by the government in 2005, in a civil forfeiture proceeding.
Deputy Sheriffs in Mobile County, Alabama seized counterfeit merchandise valued at around $250,000 yesterday, including fake Nike shoes, Ralph Lauren Polo shirts and pirated DVDs from two Urban Unlimited stores, reports the Mobile Press-Register.
The Herald Sun reported last Sunday that Australian Customs officials in Adelaide found a large shipment of weapons and counterfeit goods in a sea cargo shipment from China April 5. The confiscated shipment included 197 nunchakus, 100 extendable steel batons, 831 BB guns, a large quantity of BB pellets, 665 tins of counterfeit trading cards, 480 fake pocket mirrors, 360 fake backpacks and 1,166 stationery items. Among the fake brands were Yu-Gi-Oh!, Disney, Hello Kitty, Mattel and Nickelodeon.
Six More Indicted in Albers Lipitor Counterfeiting Scheme
The Kansas City Star reports that six additional individuals were indicted in Kansas on Friday on charges of selling counterfeit or illicitly imported Lipitor and other prescription drugs in the secondary wholesale market. The indictment named Gary Wayne Smith of Alabama,Salvatore A. Esposito of New York, Trang Doan Nguyen of Los Angeles, Phillip R. Giannino of Chicago, William Alan McGee of Memphis and James Irland Hoyt Floyd of Huntsville, Alabama. Smith and Esposito were previously indicted. This latest indictment brings to 24 the number of defendants charged in connection with the drug counterfeiting scheme. Fourteen individuals have been convicted, including Doug Albers, who pleaded guilty last October to selling counterfeit and misbranded drugs.
Tahoe Retailer Indicted for Selling Fakes
Last week, a federal grand jury indicted Leonardo Morales, the owner of Divine Fragrances, a former boutique near Lake Tahoe, for allegedly selling handbags, sunglasses, watches, shoes, umbrellas, scarves, hats and jewelry. According to the Tahoe Daily Tribune, the counterfeited trademarks include Gucci, Cloe, Christian Dior, Prada, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Rolex, Armani, Cartier, Geneva, Tag Heuer, Tiffany, Movado and Bebe.
| Comments (0)11 Indicted For Internet Sales of Counterfeit Drugs as Canadian Generics
11 individuals in Georgia, South Dakota, North Carolina, and Belize and a Georgia-based company have been indicted on charges of selling counterfeit prescription drugs over the Internet. The Government asserts that the defendants operated a drug manufacturing facility in Belize at which they manufactured 24 drugs that they advertised through spam as generics imported from Canada, including versions of the drugs sold under the brand names Viagra, Cialis, Lipitor and Vioxx. According to the Government, millions of pills were produced, many of which were shipped to internet purchasers in the U.S. and drug wholesalers.
The indictment charges the defendants with (1) conspiring to import controlled substances into the Untied States and (2) conspiring ot violate the wire and mail fraud statute and to introduce into interstate commerce adulterated and misbranded prescription drugs.
Press reports state that many of the drugs had little or no medicinal value, that the defendants netted more than $19 million, and that photographs of the drug lab in Belize showed that the equipment used to manufacture the pills was covered with dust and dirt and pills were stored in large garbage cans.Click here for more information
| Comments (0)Counterfeit Nike Smugglers Indicted for Trafficking and Bribery
The Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security announced today "the break up of one of the largest counterfeit merchandise smuggling schemes uncovered in recent U.S. history." The accused counterfeiters were indicted in Tuscon in August 2006 for conspiring to smuggle millions of dollars worth of phony merchandise, including Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes, from China into the United States. Authorities seized more than $16 million worth of counterfeit merchandise as part of the probe.
According to the indictment, between May 12 and July 25 of 2006, the six defendants attempted to illegally import 15 cargo containers containing approximately 135,000 pairs of counterfeit Nike Air Jordan athletic shoes with a retail value of more than $16 million. The indictment also alleges that three of the defendants sought to bribe an undercover agent posing as a Customs & Border Patrol ("CBP") officer to falsify government records to indicate that merchandise shipped from China to the United States was re-exported to Mexico, when, in fact, it was destined for the U.S. market. Two of the defendants are also accused of soliciting an undercover agent posing as a customs broker to facilitate the release of six containers of merchandise being held by CBP in Nogales. According to the indictment, several of the defendants met at least eight times with the undercover agent, giving Trial is scheduled for October 17. Click here for details from ICE.