A Naples, Italy resident has been sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a massive counterfeit electronics trafficking scheme that smuggled over 40,000 devices into the United States from China between 2009 and 2014.
Rosario La Marca, 54, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to smuggle goods into the United States, and to structure financial transactions, as well as trafficking in counterfeit goods. He was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty in Newark federal court.
The estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for an equivalent number of genuine items would have exceeded $15 million. The devices were shipped separately from the labels bearing counterfeit trademarks in order to avoid detection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The devices were then labeled and packaged after they passed through customs.
Proceeds from the sales of the devices were funneled back to the defendants’ accounts in Florida and New Jersey via structured cash deposits, broken into multiple deposits of less than $10,000 each to avoid bank reporting requirements.
La Marca also made more than 100 illegal wire transfers totaling more than $1.1 million to Hong Kong to facilitate his criminal activity.
La Marca was sentenced to one year of supervised release in addition to the prison term. He was also ordered to pay restitution and fines.
Volpe and Becerra, two other defendants in the case, have pleaded guilty to their roles and await sentencing. Jianhua Li, a Chinese national, has pleaded not guilty and is currently awaiting trial.
The case was jointly investigated by the HSI Newark Seaport Investigations Group and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Financial Crimes Unit, with significant assistance from Europol and Italy’s Guardia di Finanza.
The government is represented by Senior Litigation Counsel Leslie Schwartz and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Devlin of the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorney Kebharu Smith of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section.
La Marca was represented by Scott D. Finckenauer Esq. of Fairview, New Jersey.
According to the indictment, La Marca conspired with others to smuggle counterfeit electronics, including Apple iPhones, iPads and iPods, from China into the United States. The estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail prices for an equivalent number of genuine items would have exceeded $15 million.
The indictment also alleges that La Marca and his co-conspirators used a complex scheme to structure financial transactions to avoid detection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
La Marca pleaded guilty to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to smuggle goods into the United States, and to structure financial transactions, and Count Two, charging him with trafficking in counterfeit goods.
La Marca was originally charged in an eight-count indictment in April 2015 with importing and trafficking fake iPhones, iPads and iPods bearing counterfeit Apple trademarks, and fake camcorders bearing counterfeit Sony trademarks, as well as smuggling, structuring and international money laundering.
Key Facts
- State: New Jersey
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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