SEATTLE - Gucci, Coach, Dolce & Gabanna, Prada, Louis Vuitton. Their high-end products cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Seattle Police cracked down on a large-scale counterfeiting ring that was using designer names to sell fake goods.
According to court documents, a two-year investigation by the Seattle Police Major Crimes Unit netted 40,000 counterfeit items worth nearly $18 million.
In May 2008, four Seattle businesses were raided including EB's Fine Handbags in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood.
Owner "EB" Tournay says he knowingly sold counterfeit goods but did not realize it was a crime.
"I didn't know. Now I know. So now I am not selling them anymore," he said.
Tournay's is back in business, but is selling look-alike purses instead of those with designer names. Tournay says he has learned a costly lesson.
"I never would have done that because I lost a lot of money," he said.
Malamin Banda shut down Jobe's Urban Gear in Seattle's Central District after it was raided by police. Undercover officers say they confiscated 421 counterfeit items from the shop. Banda says he doesn't sell fake good anymore.
"It's no longer part of my life," he said.
Officers also raided the now shuttered Seattle Handbags and Toure's Apparel.
Investigators say the counterfeiters were selling the fake purses for about 50 bucks a pop when the real ones go for $500 to several thousand dollars each.
Employees of the high-end brands say the knock-offs dilute their brand name. Washington Retail Association CEO Jan Teague says the fake goods "erode the system" by undercutting legitimate retailers. Teague says the counterfeiters need to be found because they are "not good for anybody."
Customers are also the victims. Standing outside the downtown Gucci store, shopper Dakota Ingram calls the counterfeiters "dishonest" and says "someone is working hard for that money, and is going out to buy something special for themselves. And expect it to be real."
The ten charged counterfeiters will appear before a King County Judge on March 8.
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