Counterfeit Luxury Goods Smuggling Ring Busted

Twenty-two individuals have been charged with smuggling millions of dollars of counterfeit luxury goods into the United States. The charges were unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, and 21 defendants were arrested this morning.

The counterfeit goods, with a suggested value of nearly half a billion dollars, were manufactured in China and brought into the US through ports of entry on the East and West Coasts. The goods included fake Louis Vuitton and Tory Burch handbags, Michael Kors wallets, Hermes belts, and Chanel perfume.

The defendants played various roles in the trafficking of counterfeit goods, including importers, distributors, and sellers. They allegedly used many forms of deception to smuggle the goods into the US, including fraudulently using the names and addresses of legitimate import companies and falsifying the descriptions of the containers’ contents.

The government has restrained nine real properties in Queens, Staten Island, and Brooklyn, New York, belonging to the defendants.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski said, ‘The defendants allegedly smuggled millions of dollars of counterfeit luxury goods into our country, depriving companies of their valuable and hard-earned intellectual property.’

U.S. Attorney Richard P. Donoghue said, ‘As alleged, the defendants used many forms of deception to smuggle large quantities of counterfeit luxury brand goods from China into the United States, and then profited by distributing and selling the fake merchandise.’

The investigation was conducted by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York and the New York City Police Department (NYPD), with assistance from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.