Mass. man guilty of trafficking in counterfeit goods

BOSTON – A Springfield man was charged Monday in U.S. District Court with selling counterfeit merchandise. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Springfield Police Department.

Josue Rivera, 38, also filed a plea agreement Monday where he agreed to pay approximately $29,000 in restitution and forfeit two bank accounts totaling approximately $79,000.

Rivera operated a retail merchandise business called Main Source, located in Springfield. Between April 11 and June 2012, Rivera stocked and sold counterfeit merchandise, including clothing, footwear and accessories. The merchandise featured trademarks from Gucci, Nike, Coach, Chanel and Oakley. Rivera also stocked and sold unauthorized reproductions of movie DVDs and music CDs.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Zechariah Chafee.