Two Lawrenceville residents have been arrested following an investigation that netted thousands of counterfeit items with an estimated value of nearly $16 million.
Jessica Llama, 31, and Melvin Rene Jacinto Cortez, 33, face a charge of Possession and Sale of Goods Bearing a Counterfeit Trademark in the case, which began last year.
"An investigation on the sale of luxury goods bearing counterfeit trademarks was started in September 2021 with the assistance of the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in Memphis, TN and Homeland Security Investigation (HSI)," said Gwinnett Police Public Information Officer Hideshi Valle. "The three-month investigation led the officers to many counterfeit items and several items of evidentiary value."
Two initial seizures of counterfeit items totaling $1,066,207 then led authorities to an undisclosed Gwinnett establishment having a total of over $15,896,061 in additional counterfeit items.
"The items were stored in multiple locations and advertised on Facebook," Valle said. "Luxury goods such as counterfeit Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Gucci handbags, Rolex watches, Chanel, and Versace sunglasses."
Gwinnett Police ask that anyone with knowledge of suspected counterfeit goods to visit CBP’s online e-Allegations portal or call 1-800-BE-ALERT.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2022/2/1076253/two-arrested-in-multi-million-dollar-counterfeit-operation