LONG BEACH ANTI-COUNTERFEITING TASKFORCE

The Investigative Consultants team assisted The Long Beach Police Department’s Directed Enforcement Team in a anti-counterfeiting taskforce action recently. The Long Beach PD identified four locations where gang activity was occurring and that they believed may also be involved in the sales of counterfeit goods. Undercover investigators conducted multiple undercover buys from the locations. The owner’s of each of the locations admitted that they were selling counterfeit goods.

Long Beach PD officers obtained search warrants for all four locations. The warrants were served and a total of six arrests were made. Law enforcement recovered a large quantity of counterfeit shoes, jeans, and other clothing items. Officers also recovered drugs and several handguns. One of the handguns that was recovered had reportedly been stolen from a law enforcement officer. This was a great intellectual property enforcement action carried out by the Long Beach Police Department.

By Investigative Consultants

OPERATION "DESIGNED jUSTICE"

Law enforcement officials from around Northern California successfully wrapped up Operation “Designed Justice” with the arrests of multiple subjects and the seizure of millions of dollars worth of counterfeit goods. Operation Designed Justice involved the US Secret Service, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service, Immigration Customs Enforcement, US Attorney’s Office, State Parole, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department, Placer County Sheriff’s Department, Sacramento Police Department, Galt Police Department, Lodi Police Department, Elk Grove Police Department and a team from Investigative Consultants. The operation was spearheaded by Detective Jim Hudson of the Placer County Sheriff’s Department and Special Agent Kelly Shintaku of the U.S. Secret Service.

The operation targeted major distributors of all types of counterfeit goods that were being distributed from the Galt Flea Market in Galt, California. During the investigation of the subjects, it was determined that several of the targets were actually importing the counterfeit goods directly from China and were also involved in other serious crimes.

At first glance, one would believe that the subjects at the flea market were “small time” swap meet type vendors. Law enforcement learned very quickly that this was not the case. The subjects of the investigation were selling all types of counterfeit goods, including counterfeit electrical items. Samples of the counterfeit electrical items were tested for safety. The tests revealed that the electrical items were actually very dangerous and posed a serious safety risk.

During the operation, law enforcement was able to identify numerous storage areas that were being used to store counterfeit goods, along with a residence that was being used to manufacture counterfeit handbags and wallets. Several of the subjects are being prosecuted federally, while others face state counterfeiting charges. This operation was a huge success and is a true example of how several law enforcement agencies can come together to destroy an ongoing criminal enterprise. Job well done.

SHOES, SUNGLASSES, AND PERFUMES???

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, COPS Bureau has become very active in pursuing counterfeiting and piracy cases. Sergeant Sandecki and his team from COPS Bureau recently wrapped up a major investigation involving the sales, distribution, and manufacturing of counterfeit merchandise. Sandecki’s case involved a subject that was importing blank sunglasses into the United States from China. Once the subject received the sunglasses here, the subject would have the sunglasses printed with the counterfeit trademarks. The subject was operating from a warehouse in Santa Fe Springs, California and was having the sunglasses printed in a small apartment in Los Angeles.

Sergeant Sandecki obtained a search warrant for both locations. The warrants were served simultaneously and multiple subjects involved in the operation were arrested. Sandecki and his team recovered counterfeit shoes, sunglasses, and perfumes valued at over $ 3,000,000. One of the subjects was found to be a documented violent gang member, who had been previously deported from the United States. ICE was called to the scene to assist LASD. ICE took custody of the subject, who will now be spending some quiet time in a federal prison. Nice team effort.

By Investigative Consultants

TRAINING AND EDUCATION

On 1-22-09, The IACC Foundation, Investigative Consultants, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department hosted another successful training event. The training was attended by over 190 law enforcement officials from throughout California and numerous brand owners. A special thanks to Captain Berner, Lt. Stedman, Sergeant Munson, Sergeant Sandecki, Deputy DA Yabuno, Officer Siurek, James Hooper, and all the attendees, who made this event a huge success.

By Investigative Consultants

A CASE OF COUNTERFEIT AND NATIONAL SECURITY!

On 1-21-09, The FBI announced the arrests of two Southern California men on charges of exporting controlled items to the People’s Republic of China without a license, trafficking in counterfeit goods, and conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. Michael Ming Zhang of Rancho Cucamonga, California, and Policarpo Coronado Gamboa, of Foothill Ranch, California, were charged in two separate indictments last week and arrested. Participating in the arrests were agents with the FBI; U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security - Office of Export Enforcement; U.S. Defense Criminal Investigative Service – Office of Inspector General; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and deputies from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, as well as a team from Investigative Consultants.

According to an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles on January 13th, 2009, Michael Ming Zhang allegedly exported U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) controlled electronic components to his company’s Shenzhen branch office in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and to a transshipment point company, Fangyuan Electronics Ltd. (Fangyuan), in the PRC and Hong Kong.

It is illegal to export Department of Commerce-controlled electronic items to the PRC without an export license for specified end-users. The items, known as dual-use technology, are controlled by the Department of Commerce for export to the PRC for national security reasons since they have civilian and military applications. Among the illegal exports were components manufactured by Vetronix Research Corporation in the U.S, whose technology is currently used in the U.S. Army’s battle tanks.

The indictment further alleges that Zhang knowingly and intentionally trafficked in counterfeit Cisco electronic components bearing counterfeit marks from the PRC for distribution in the United States. The indictment alleges that Zhang imported and trafficked a total of at least 4,300 counterfeit Cisco computer networking components in at least 25 separate transactions with an estimated retail market value of more than $3.3 million.

The second indictment alleges that Zhang and co-defendant, Coronado Gamboa, conspired to import Sony electronic components bearing counterfeit marks from the PRC for distribution in the United States. Coronado Gamboa allegedly conspired with Zhang to purchase the counterfeit Sony electronic components in at least 10 separate transactions. The components were then sold in the U.S. and around the world.