Jeffrey Steven Telsey, Counterfeit Razor Blades, Michigan 2008

GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN

Jeffrey Steven Telsey, 56, of Delray Beach, Florida, was sentenced to 30 months custody followed by three years of supervised release for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit Gillette razor blades.

U.S. District Judge Janet T. Neff ordered Telsey to pay $400,506.17 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.

In sentencing Telsey, Judge Neff characterized the trafficking of counterfeit merchandise as a quintessential white collar crime that is a serious offense against the public.

Along those lines, U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Miles noted, “Much of our nation’s value in the global economy is derived from intellectual property – ideas, brands, innovations, and creations. We must vigilantly protect those properties. Would be criminals should know that they face prosecution and serious criminal penalties when they steal from companies and the public by committing fraud through counterfeit and pirated goods.”

In January 2008, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) learned that counterfeit Gillette Mach3 razor refills were being distributed through Meijer Stores. Officials from Meijer Stores and Proctor and Gamble (P&G), the owners of the Gillette brand, immediately cooperated with HSI.

HSI coordinated a series of controlled purchases of counterfeit razorblades from Telsey, who operated a business called JCA Enterprises (JCA). At the same time, Meijer Stores conducted a company-wide recall of the Gillette razorblades to confiscate the counterfeit product.

JCA was a “diverter” business and collected odd and leftover lots of health and beauty care products for resale to wholesalers and large retail outlets. Mixed in with JCA’s legitimate business was the trafficking of counterfeit razorblades.

In November 2009, HSI executed a search warrant on JCA located in Boca Raton, Florida, and seized approximately 27,000 units of counterfeit Gillette-branded razors, valued at approximately $425,000 MSRP. On the same day the search warrant was executed, HSI agents seized Telsey’s business bank account which contained $400,506.17.

After a lengthy investigation, HSI determined that Telsey obtained the counterfeit merchandise from an importer in New Jersey. The importer, in turn, obtained the counterfeit razorblades from manufacturers in China. The volume of counterfeit razorblades is estimated to be in the millions of dollars.

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