Kansas store owner pleads guilty to trafficking counterfeit goods

WICHITA, Kan. – A retail store owner pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to trafficking in counterfeit goods.

This case was investigated by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Glenda Sue Morgan, 55, Wichita, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in goods bearing counterfeit trademarks. In her plea agreement, Morgan admitted selling the counterfeit goods as replicas at her business, The Fabulous Store on E. 37th N. in Wichita.

Undercover law enforcement officers bought $500 worth of counterfeit items in April 2013, including fake Chanel bracelet and sunglasses, and counterfeit Michael Kors and Prada purses. When HSI investigators later executed a search warrant at Morgan’s store, they seized 400 counterfeit items with a retail value of about $14,000.

In June 2009, HSI special agents had seized more than $1 million in counterfeit goods from the same location. At the time, Morgan forfeited ownership of the items which were destroyed, but she was not charged criminally.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 17. Morgan faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison, without parole and a fine up to $2 million.