Latest news with #counterfeit
CBS News
8 hours ago
- CBS News
Feds seize $573K in fake Rolex watches and designer sunglasses in Pittsburgh
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized than two dozen counterfeit Rolex watches and designer brand sunglasses in Pittsburgh. If the 13 watches and 12 sunglasses had been real, the CBP said they would have been valued at about $573,000. Officers inspected the shipment on April 27 after it arrived from the United Arab Emirates. The CBP said the shipment was destined for a Pittsburgh address and manifested as handbags. Instead, the container had Rolex watches and sunglasses with brand names like Burberry, Chanel and Gucci. Suspecting the goods were knockoffs, the CBP said officers detained them for further review. Trade experts took a look at the products, working with the trademark holders to verify that they were fake. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 13 counterfeit Rolex watches and 12 pairs of designer brand sunglasses in Pittsburgh. If real, they would have been valued at about $573,000. (Photo: U.S. Customs and Border Protection) The CBP says the international trade in counterfeit consumer goods is illegal. It takes away money from the trademark holders and steals tax revenue from the government. The CBP also funds transnational criminal organizations, and the unregulated products can threaten the health and safety of American consumers. Counterfeiters make goods with "substandard" materials that could break or harm consumers, and the CBP said the products may be sourced or manufactured in facilities that use forced labor. "Unsuspecting consumers could be victimized twice by counterfeit products, such as these fake Rolex watches, because they may end up paying close to authentic prices for cheaper knockoffs, and they'll learn that the product isn't warrantied should it need repair," James Hindes, CBP's acting port director in Pittsburgh, said in a news release. "Customs and Border Protection urges you to protect your families by purchasing authentic consumer products from reputable retailers."
Daily Mail
16 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Inside blazing row over a prized 'Hermès handbag' worth $60,000 between one very unhappy buyer and a fallen Sydney 'It girl' socialite
A former celebrity stylist and one-time 'It' girl of the 2000s has now been accused of selling a $60,000 fake designer handbag to a Sydney client just months before she was arrested for allegedly forging prescriptions. Kelly Smythe, 47, now works as a luxury fashion sourcer, seeking out sought-after pieces from exclusive designer fashion houses for wealthy buyers, after her freelance styling work dried up. Last year, the New Zealand-born mother-of-one promised a rich client on Sydney 's lower north shore that she would find an ultra-rare Hermès Kelly bag that can cost up to $100,000. The client paid Smythe - who lives on Australia's most expensive street in Point Piper - $60,000 to source the exclusive status symbol, only to receive what she believes was a cheap fake. 'The bag she delivered is not an authentic Hermès bag,' the buyer, who asked not to be identified, told Daily Mail Australia. 'It might have been a "good fake" - but I forked out all the money in good faith that she would deliver the real thing. 'Even the packaging and the receipt were terrible fakes - one was covered in white-out.' The disappointed buyer has made repeated attempts to get her money back for more than a year, but has only been given a string of excuses in return. 'She kept finding new reasons for the authenticity of the bag, but none of it made sense and it was all just to stall me from pursuing things legally,' she added. It comes as a growing number of counterfeit products are now flooding the market online, often carrying convincing fake certificates of authenticity. Hermès will now only guarantee official authenticity of their bags if they are actually purchased directly from a Hermès store. They will not provide authentication certificates for items purchased elsewhere. Smythe told her buyer that she would need to send the bag to Hermès for them to inspect it at their headquarters in Paris. But she warned that the fashion house will destroy the bag if they deem it a fake, in order to permanently take it out of circulation. In text messages seen by Daily Mail Australia, Smythe urges the woman to send the bag abroad to have it certified. 'I insist you allow them to send it to Paris as the store [in Australia] is not allowed to authenticate it,' she said. 'Paris will burn it if it isn't real, then we can ask for your money back.' The woman has now launched legal action against Smythe to get her cash back but she wants to sound the alarm to stop others suffering the same fate she did. 'It's not the money, it's the principle. I don't want her to do this to anyone else.' Last month Smythe spent the night in custody before appearing before Downing Centre Local Court via video link after she was arrested for allegedly forging prescriptions. She was charged with two counts of using a false document to obtain property and two counts of obtaining or attempting to get a prohibited drug by false representation. A charge sheet showed Ms Smythe allegedly used a false letter and two fraudulent scripts to get dexamphetamine and lisdexamfetamine from the Paddington Compounding Pharmacy on Oxford Street on February 21 and May 15. Dexamphetamine medication is used in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and narcolepsy (sleep disorder), while Lisdexamfetamine treats moderate-to-severe binge eating disorder in adults. Smythe's barrister Charles Alexander lodged a release application on his client's behalf. 'She knows she needs to stay on the straight and narrow,' he told the court. Magistrate Sharon Freund said the police facts indicated there may be further charges pending, but no fresh charges had been laid. The magistrate granted bail but added: 'I suspect your client may have an issue with the drugs she has been self-prescribing.' Smythe, who wore gold-rimmed sunglasses during her video-linked court appearance, said: 'Thank you so much, ma'am.' The case will be back before the court next month. At the height of her career Smythe was a Seven Network stylist and the go-to fashion adviser to Sydney's elite, styling Miranda Kerr, Jennifer Hawkins, Jodi Gordon and Sonia Kruger. But after five years at the helm of the wardrobe styling department, Seven cut ties with her. With the local fashion industry teetering on the brink of collapse, Smythe struggled with freelance work and former friends say she vanished from the limelight. She tied the knot in 2011 with Alex Nikolaidis, 10 years younger than her, at St Mark's Church in the ritzy eastern suburbs enclave of Darling Point in front of clients and Sydney's society set including Roxy Jacenko, Holly Brisley and Chris Bath. The couple welcomed a son, now 14, a year before saying 'I do'. They are now divorced. Last month the petite former stylist was seen stranded on New South Head Road in Sydney's east after her car ran out of fuel and required NRMA roadside assistance. She was dressed in low-rise jeans, furry flats and designer sunglasses.
Zawya
20 hours ago
- Business
- Zawya
South Africa Local trade marks v genuine imports: SCA ruling clarifies 'counterfeit' and 'infringement'
When can genuine, brand name goods still be labelled 'counterfeit'? The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has just answered that question in Yossi Barel v Popular Trading CC (handed down 23 June 2025) - and its guidance will matter to every South African company that imports, distributes or enforces branded products. Setting the scene How the brand began – Italian designer Enrico Coveri turned his colourful style into a global fashion label in the 1980s. When he passed away in 1990, his sister Silvana Anna Maria Coveri stepped in as general manager of Enrico Coveri S.r.l., which still licenses the mark internationally. The South African twist – The 'Enrico Coveri' trade mark was first registered here between 1985 and 1988, but the registration lapsed after renewal fees went unpaid in the wake of the designer's death. In the 2000s, local footwear manufacturer Yossi Barel registered the mark in his own name (including for footwear) and began selling shoes made in China and Turkey under the label. Parallel imports arrive – KwaZulu-Natal-based Popular Trading has brought in Enrico Coveri footwear for more than two decades. After an early stint with non-authentic stock from China, it has, since 2010, imported authentic Italian-made shoes supplied by the brand's licensed manufacturers. How the case unfolded Believing the imports infringed his South African registration, Yossi Barel obtained a search-and-seizure warrant under the Counterfeit Goods Act (CGA) in December 2021. Popular Trading persuaded the High Court to set the warrant aside; Yossi Barel appealed, sending the matter to the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA). A three-judge majority dismissed the appeal, stressing that: - the seized shoes were genuine products from the Italian rights-holder; and - counterfeiting under the CGA requires proof of an intent to deceive, not merely an unauthorised use of a registered mark. Two judges dissented, favouring the view that any unauthorised use of Barel's registration should count as counterfeiting. Why does it matter? - Intent is now central. The majority read the word 'calculated' in the CGA as importing mens rea: you must prove the alleged counterfeiter meant consumers to think the goods came from the trade mark owner. Simply showing the mark was used without consent is no longer enough. - Authenticity defeats a 'counterfeit' claim. The court emphasised that genuine goods, even if they bear a trade mark registered by another party, do not constitute counterfeit goods if there is no intent to deceive. - Trade mark infringement and counterfeiting are distinct. Brand owners can still sue for civil infringement, but seizure-and-destruction remedies under the CGA demand proof of deliberate copying. The court held that not all acts of trade mark infringement amount to counterfeiting, as counterfeiting involves a high standard of deliberate and fraudulent infringement. - Importers gain clarity. Businesses that buy directly from authorised foreign suppliers can rely on documentation of authenticity to fend off counterfeit raids. Ultimately, the SCA has drawn a bright line: the Counterfeit Goods Act is a weapon against deliberate fakes, not a shortcut for brand owners to stop genuine parallel imports. Rights holders who want CGA relief must now arrive with hard evidence that the alleged infringer intended to deceive, while importers can shield themselves by keeping airtight documentation of their products' authentic, licensed origin. By insisting on proof of fraudulent intent, the Court rebalances the playing field - encouraging trade mark owners to keep their registrations current and their enforcement strategies proportionate and giving compliant distributors greater confidence that legitimate goods will not be swept up in 'counterfeit' raids. All rights reserved. © 2022. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fake NFL merch scams are surging. Here's how to avoid getting duped
NFL fans, beware. Counterfeit scams on NFL merchandise are becoming more common, according to a study from The study analyzed 550,000 online conversations in the past year for all 32 NFL teams, monitoring "heated debates" about fake knock-off products. Advertisement This year, federal officials seized almost $40 million in fake sports gear, according to a February news release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 'With the rise of e-commerce, it has become incredibly easy for criminals to create fake websites, online marketplaces, and social media ads offering deceptive deals with the sole intention of scamming sports fans,' Ivan J. Arvelo, director of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, said in a news release. Philadelphia Eagles counterfeit merchandise at an anti-counterfeiting press conference at the Phoenix Convention Center. 'That's why our partnership with sports leagues, such as the NFL, is critical in our efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of counterfeit merchandise and help consumers make informed purchasing decisions.' Advertisement The study reveals which NFL fan bases have fallen victim to fake merch scams the most. Which team topped the charts? Philadelphia Eagles fans – with 41,660 online conversations about fake merchandise online – rank among the top fanbases that get scammed, the study said. Eagles fans also suffer the highest rate of negative sentiment in those online conversations, with 38% of them expressing frustration or disappointment. Other teams with significant chatter include the Kansas City Chiefs (28,442 conversations, 15% negative), Dallas Cowboys (24,828 conversations, 18% negative), and Pittsburgh Steelers (22,844 conversations, 16% negative). Advertisement The biggest victims of fake NFL merchandise scams are these fanbases: Teams Fake merchandise conversations Percent of negative conversations online in the last 12 months Philadelphia Eagles 41,660 38% Kansas City Chiefs 28,442 15% Dallas Cowboys 24,828 18% Pittsburgh Steelers 22,844 16% New York Giants 20,540 14% New York Jets 19,516 13% San Francisco 49ers 19,060 12% Cleveland Browns 19,060 16% Detroit Lions 18,989 14% How to protect yourself from counterfeit merchandise According to the NFL, here are a few tips for sports fans when making purchases: Only shop at trusted retail locations. Be cautious when shopping online. If a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Criminals often use legitimate product photos on their websites despite selling a fraudulent product. Consumers should use caution before buying expensive items from unfamiliar online sellers. Purchasing merchandise from authorized dealers that are reputable sources for quality merchandise helps ensure that your transaction will be safe, and concerns will be handled responsibly. Look out for poor quality, sloppy stitching, missing security labels or irregular markings on apparel. Check your online bank statements. Keep a record of purchases and copies of confirmation pages and compare them to bank statements. If there is a discrepancy, consumers should report it immediately. Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Fake NFL merch scams are surging. Here's how to avoid getting duped
South China Morning Post
2 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Vietnam raids outfit selling livestock oil for cooking: ‘anything left that isn't fake?'
Vietnam 's food safety authorities have issued a nationwide public health warning following a local police bust of a large counterfeit oil operation secretly selling animal-feed oil as cooking oil to restaurants, factories and food producers across the country. Police in Hung Yen province raided the Nhat Minh Food Production and Import-Export Company on Tuesday. It was allegedly repackaging imported animal feed-grade vegetable oil under the Ofood brand and selling it as cooking oil, the VnExpress newspaper reported. 'This fake cooking oil threatens public health,' an official with Vietnam's Department of Food Safety said on Wednesday. As animal-feed oil is often unrefined, it is not safe for human consumption and can cause poisoning, organ damage, toxin build-up and increased risk of chronic diseases if taken over a long period. Over the past three years, the criminal network raked in an estimated 8.2 trillion dong (US$3.14 million) in revenue selling the popular Ofood cooking oil, state broadcaster Vietnam Television reported. Food stall at a local market in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Photo: Victoria Burrows Initial findings show that the group sold tens of thousands of tons of this toxic oil to a wide range of consumers – from industrial kitchens and restaurants to street food vendors and traditional village snack and sweet shops.
