 Posted: 14 Post subject: NJ Officials Charge 29 In Counterfeit Goods Ring |
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| NJ Officials Charge 29 In Counterfeit Goods Ring
in a ring that's one of the largest such scams ever uncovered, federal officials said Friday. Attorney Paul Fishman said at a news conference. "The same channels and criminal networks that allow the entry of these goods provides the opportunity for the importation of other materials that threaten our health and safety." Aside from UGG boots and cigarettes, the groups are accused of smuggling counterfeit Nike sneakers; fake Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Coach handbags; and other clothing items. Three defendants are also charged with conspiring to import 50 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine. Twentyfive people, mostly in the New YorkNew Jersey region, were arrested by Friday night and the others were being sought, Fishman said. Some of the defendants were scheduled to make initial court appearances in Newark on Friday afternoon. The defendants face a smorgasbord of charges including conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit goods,[url=http://nikefreetilbud.hcslnet.com]nike free tilbud[/url], evading financial reporting requirements, money laundering and importing methamphetamine. The drug charges carry maximum penalties of life in prison. in boxes that were deliberately mislabeled to keep shipping costs down. The goods came through the Port NewarkElizabeth Marine Terminal, the busiest port on the East Coast. From there, the goods were taken to warehouses in the area where coconspirators would remove generic outer labels to expose the counterfeit brand name labels, according to the indictment. The goods were then sold to wholesale and retail outlets. A tip received by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in northern Virginia led to an undercover effort that ultimately led to the arrests. attorney's office, federal agents set up a shipping company that presented itself as having connections at the New Jersey port to help the smuggling scheme. The conspirators allegedly paid more than $900,000 to the fictional company between August 2008 and February 2012. Nicknamed "The Beijing Kid," Guo is portrayed in the indictments as having his hand in smuggling, warehousing and distributing the counterfeit goods. The Chinese citizen, who resides in Canada, faces conspiracy, counterfeit goods trafficking and money laundering charges. Guo was arrested and made an initial appearance in federal court in Newark on Friday. He remained in custody. Even in Europe, despite laws being enacted in places such as France that make it a crime to posess counterfeit goods, demand grows ever year. And it's not just from those whom cannot afford the "real thing" either. One of the reasons France passed it's laws was in response to numbers of their citizens returning from places such as the USA with fake luxury items. There was time when carrying a certain handbag or owning something from the luxury house indicated status. But quite honestly with the emergence of easy credit coupled with vast class of persons willing to put themselves into debt or whatever means necessary to prove their status (at least in the USA), much of the value has dimished. In response the luxury goods market has flooded the market with all manner and sort of products advertised with the promise that persons will look like a supermodel and or advertise their membership in a select group if they only buy. Honestly the only LV worth owning these days is the hard sided luggage, especially vintage. The fact one owns it alone says much. If one uses the things it says more since these days that usually means private jet transport. No one in their right mind would let the TSA and airport luggage handlers near the things for it's almost certain one will not see the bag and or it's contents again. |
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