Photo Courtesy of U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of NY
“[T]he defendants trafficked in counterfeit merchandise that they fraudulently branded as genuine to pass off to purchasers in the United States at a purported retail value of more than $130 million,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Kasulis.
By Forum Staff
A 14-count indictment was recently unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn charging seven defendants—including three borough residents—with participating in a counterfeit goods scheme in which they imported generic goods into the United States from China, applied brand labels to those goods in workshops, some of which were controlled by the defendants, and then sold those counterfeit-branded goods to retail and wholesale purchasers, federal prosecutors announced.
The charges against Hai Long Zhou, 53, Yan Xue Huang, 50, and Jian Fen Yang, 57, all from Queens; and SaiyinHou, 25, a Brooklyn resident, include conspiracy to traffic and trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering. The four defendants were arraigned last week and each was released on a $200,000 bond. Three additional defendants remain at large.
Photo Courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security
The generic goods were allegedly delivered to workshops and storage facilities controlled by some of the defendants in Queens and on Long Island. In those workshops, insignias, emblems, trademarks and other brand signifiers were applied to the goods, converting them into purported brand name merchandise.
As alleged in the indictment, between October 2019 and July 2021, the defendants participated in an international scheme to traffic counterfeit goods. The defendants first imported the goods in generic form from China into the Port of New York and New Jersey. The goods were then delivered to workshops and storage facilities controlled by some of the defendants in Queens and on Long Island. In those workshops, insignias, emblems, trademarks and other brand signifiers were applied to the generic goods, converting them into purported brand name merchandise. These counterfeit goods were then sold as a part of the scheme directly to consumers and to wholesale buyers. The estimated retail value of the counterfeit-branded goods, had they been genuine, was in excess of $130 million.
“As alleged, the defendants trafficked in counterfeit merchandise that they fraudulently branded as genuine to pass off to purchasers in the United States at a purported retail value of more than $130 million,” said Acting Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Jacquelyn Kasulis. “This office and its law enforcement partners are committed to protecting consumers from paying retail prices for phony merchandise and to holding defendants accountable for their greed.”
