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March 11, 2019
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

In an effort to mitigate vulnerabilities within the commerce stream that threaten the nation’s consumers and to protect national security, Homeland Security officials recently launched its Global Trade Task Force (GTTF), an ICE HSI-led multi-agency effort that leverages robust import and export controls and investigative authorities to combat illicit commercial activities.

February 7, 2019
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Four companies and three individuals have agreed to plead guilty to federal criminal charges related to the illegal importation and sale of $11 million worth of pharmaceutical-grade erectile dysfunction drugs that were falsely marketed as herbal remedies for men. Federal prosecutors today filed two new cases against distributors of the misbranded drugs.

January 31, 2019
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, Atlanta police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LIII. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.

January 17, 2019
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Rogelio Vasquez, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit military goods, two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, and one count of wire fraud.

November 26, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Roughly 33,600 website domain names were criminally seized in a collaborative effort between ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Europol, Interpol and police agencies from 26 different countries. Industry partners participating in the operation were fully responsible for civilly seizing 1.21 million domain names and shutting down 2.2 million erroneous ecommerce links featured on social media platforms and third-party marketplaces.

November 7, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

HSI special agents seized more than 3,000 items of counterfeit MLB apparel and merchandise being offered for sale by vendors in and around Fenway Park, throughout the Boston area, and along the post-series victory parade route in Boston. Merchandise included  baseball hats, knit caps, t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pennants. Had the goods been genuine, they would have retailed domestically for more than $87,000 dollars.

October 30, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

IPR Center Director Alex Khu and CoLP Commissioner Ian Dyson pledged to combine resources to tackle the illegal importation and distribution of counterfeit goods that threaten the health and safety of consumers, wreak havoc on local and national economies, and fund criminal organizations involved in various illicit activities.

October 24, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Intellectual property enforcement representatives met at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement-led National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center in Arlington, Virginia, for the 2018 IPR Center Symposium: Leveraging the Influence of Social Media.

October 12, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

The leaders of the counterfeit scheme, Stephen Russell and Robert Brown, both of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, were convicted in February and March of this year of trafficking in counterfeit goods charges in Rhode Island federal court; final sentencing in the case is set for January 2019.

August 16, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

33 individuals were charged Thursday following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) into a scheme to illegally bring into the United States millions of dollars of Chinese-manufactured goods by smuggling them through ports of entry on the East and West Coasts.  One defendant is also charged with unlawful procurement of naturalization.  

August 7, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

As alleged in the complaint, from at least in or about January 2016 up to and including in or about July 2018, Suen, Huang, Songhua Qu, Kin Lui Chen, and Fangrang Qu, imported at least 42 shipping containers holding an estimated more than 380,000 pairs of sneakers from China. These sneakers were manufactured to resemble Nike Air Jordans.

July 6, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

HSI eventually seized 795 boxes containing 181,615 pieces of trademark-infringed merchandise, which included many counterfeited brands, such as the following names: Adidas, Apple, Calvin Klein, Casio, Chanel, Coach, Diesel, Fendi, Gucci, Hugo Boss, LG, Luis Vuitton, Mark Kors, Nike, Rolex, Samsung, Sony, Under Armor, Yves St. Laurent; and DC and Marvel Comics.

May 21, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Special agents with ICE's HSI on Thursday seized nearly 79,000 counterfeit items that included apparel and consumer electronics from luxury and sporting trademark designers such as Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Adidas, Nike, Apple, Samsung and Sony. 

May 1, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Rogelio Vasquez is charged in a 30-count indictment that alleges he acquired old, used and/or discarded integrated circuits from Chinese suppliers that had been repainted and remarked with counterfeit logos.

April 26, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

The IPR Center not only stands at the forefront of the federal government’s response to counterfeiting, but also epitomizes ICE’s commitment to dedicate resources in the fight against IP crimes,” said HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Derek Benner. “HSI special agents in collaboration with law-enforcement partners and industry representatives will continue to aggressively investigate IP theft and refer cases for prosecution.

April 4, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

James Pepion, of Portland, was sentenced in federal court Wednesday to four months in prison followed by three years supervised release for selling counterfeit Nike sneakers online and laundering his proceeds.

March 8, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud, Contraband

According to the indictment, defendants Carlos Enrique Velázquez-Gines, Mayra Evelise Gines-Otero, Noriam Ivette Flores-Deleon and Vanessa Marrero-Hernández marketed and sold numerous purported dietary supplements for male enhancement or weight loss in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) to American consumers.

March 8, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Marco DeCamillo, 41, of Reading, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 12 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for mail fraud stemming from the sales of misbranded body armor and order to pay $124,000 in restitution.

February 1, 2018
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Special agents from HSI teamed with industry, CBP, FBI, Minneapolis police officers and other partner agencies to identify flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl LII. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell-phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.

December 8, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Aleksey Illyuk, 28, of Ozark, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of mail fraud and one count of smuggling goods into the United States.

December 6, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Tonya Virtue, 33, of Mountain Grove, Missouri, waived her right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge David P. Rush to one count of smuggling goods into the United States.

November 27, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud
Several thousand copyright-infringing website domain names and third-party marketplace links selling counterfeit pharmaceuticals, automotive parts and other fake items to unsuspecting consumers have been criminally and administratively seized and removed in an effort that combines the resources of global law-enforcement agencies and industry.
November 17, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

The crackdown on counterfeiting intensified this week as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) welcomed Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC) industry representatives from multiple sectors, and IP enforcers from across the federal government, to exchange intelligence and develop new strategies in the fight against IP crimes that support transnational criminal organizations and threaten the health and safety of American consumers.

September 27, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Shi Wei Zheng, 42, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez in Newark federal court to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. HSI special agents arrested Zheng, who was charged by complaint on March 7, 2017.

September 11, 2017
|Intellectual Property Rights and Commercial Fraud

Sean Gerson, 49, the owner Vaccination Services, Inc. in Lake Forest, pleaded guilty in a scheme that netted him at least $2.5 million over the past 15 years.

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