Anton Whatman
Federal authorities said a recent raid on a New York City warehouse uncovered a trove of counterfeit handbags, shoes and other luxury items that could be worth more than $1 billion if they were genuine.
An enforcement action conducted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security and city police led to the seizure of about 219,000 items from a Manhattan storage facility, officials said. Two people were charged with trafficking counterfeit goods.
Photos released by prosecutors showed shelves stacked with purses and bags in one area and handbags hanging from hooks from floor to ceiling in another.
U.S. Attorney Damien Williams described the raid as “the largest seizure of counterfeit goods in American history.”
The two men face up to 10 years in prison if convicted for allegedly distributing counterfeit goods since at least January, according to the indictment.
Counterfeit luxury goods have long been a fixture of New York City’s underground shopping scene, attracting savvy shoppers looking for near-identical replicas of designer goods at prices that are sometimes hundreds or even thousands of dollars cheaper.
Law enforcement agencies, working in partnership with luxury brand investigators, have stepped up efforts to combat counterfeiting in recent decades, focusing on retailers, importers and distribution centers involved in the counterfeit goods trade.
Federal authorities noted that based on the suggested retail prices of the genuine counterfeit goods seized, the actual street value of the items seized in the raids is likely well below $1 billion.
