A Lynnwood, Washington electronics company and its owner have been charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods, announced U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. CONNECTZONE.COM LLC, its owner Daniel Oberholtzer, and two company executives, Warren Lance Wilder and Edward Vales, are accused of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.
According to the indictment, the company had websites that advertised and sold computer networking products, including products bearing trademarks owned by U.S. companies such as Cisco. However, the investigation revealed that the company obtained its products from multiple foreign suppliers of counterfeit goods, including a Chinese firm, Xiewei Electronics.
“Protecting the intellectual property of American companies is critical to job growth and economic recovery – especially in our high tech industries,” said U.S. Attorney Durkan. “I commend the dedicated investigators who uncovered this scheme.”
The indictment alleges that the company had been distributing counterfeit equipment manufactured in China as early as 1997, while operating as Electro Products, Incorporated. The company would advise Chinese companies on how to manufacture products that would look like genuine Cisco trademarked goods. Some of the goods would be labeled “samples” when shipped to the U.S. to try to deceive U.S. Customs officials.
The U.S. based conspirators falsely advertised the counterfeit goods as genuine and offered it for sale at a much lower price than genuine Cisco equipment. The indictment describes the various emails sent between the conspirators as they ran their scheme.
Conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods is punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $2 million fine. Mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, and trafficking in counterfeit goods is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
The case is being investigated by the Seattle-Tacoma Border Enforcement Security Task Force (BEST) led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) with the Seattle Police Department, the Port of Seattle Police Department, and assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CBP OFO).
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Norman Barbosa.
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Key Facts
- State: Washington
- Category: Cybercrime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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