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Latvian National Sentenced for Multi-Million Dollar Trademark Scam
Columbia, SC – In a shocking case of deception, Viktors Suhorukovs, a 37-year-old citizen of Latvia, has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison and ordered to pay over $4.5 million in restitution for his role in a multi-million dollar trademark scam.
According to the United States Attorney’s Office in South Carolina, Suhorukovs pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a scheme that defrauded holders of United States trademark registrations. Over a nearly three-year period, Suhorukovs and his companies, Patent and Trademark Office, LLC, and Patent and Trademark Bureau, LLC, sent renewal notices to trademark registrants, misrepresenting the expiration date of their registrations.
The notices, which closely resembled official communications from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), contained a QR Code that linked the trademark holder directly to the official government USPTO website. Once the victim signed and returned the renewal notice, Suhorukovs sent them an invoice for the renewal service, charging inflated prices for the renewal of the trademark.
Victims, unaware of the scam, would then send renewal fees to Suhorukovs’ businesses, believing they were dealing with the USPTO. In reality, Suhorukovs did not or could not renew the registration at the time he represented to the victims that he would, as the trademarks were not yet eligible for renewal under applicable law.
United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins, Jr. sentenced Suhorukovs to 52 months in federal prison and 24 months of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Suhorukos was also ordered to pay $4,521,593.27 in restitution.
The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Greenville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Marosek prosecuted the case.
The USPTO has warned of a growing international problem of trademark filing scams, with foreign entities increasingly targeting U.S. citizens with misleading solicitations. The agency is committed to the rigorous protection of all users of its world-class trademark register and is pleased to work with law enforcement to achieve results like the one in this case.
For more information on how the USPTO protects owners of United States trademark registrations from theft and scams, visit https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/protect/scam-awareness.
Key Facts
- State: South Carolina
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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