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06.13.2024
Sports Fans Beware: Counterfeit NHL Merchandise on the Rise During 2024 Stanley Cup Final
WASHINGTON— With the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers competing in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) and the National Hockey League (NHL) are reminding sports fans to be wary of counterfeit sports-related merchandise and apparel during the championship series. Large sporting events, such as the Stanley Cup Final, are prime targets for increasingly savvy criminals who often set up sophisticated fake websites or e-commerce marketplace storefronts with the sole intent of scamming sports fans.
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06.07.2024
WASHINGTON – As the 2024 NBA Finals tip off this week, fans from all over are heading to Boston and Dallas to support teams and purchase authentic gear and memorabilia. With high demand for merchandise during this year’s matchup, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, joins the NBA in cautioning fans to be on the lookout for counterfeiters attempting to sell unauthorized, knock-off products and tickets.
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04.22.2024
Criminal Research Specialists Open The Door On Multiple Counterfeit Cases
WASHINGTON – Tenacious, relentless, and determined to deliver results are but a few of the ways to describe the work of Criminal Research Specialists (CRS) who work behind the scenes using research methods and procedures to collect and analyze crime data for use in developing potential criminal investigations.
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04.03.2024
Multi-Million Dollar Scheme To Defraud Department of Defense revealed
OAKLAND – A California man faces up to 30 years in a federal prison after pleading guilty to a scheme to defraud the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). Steve H.S. Kim of Alameda County pleaded guilty to selling more than $3.5 million worth of fan assemblies to the DLA that were either counterfeit or misrepresented to be new.
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04.02.2024
HSI Environmental Case Featured In Anti-Timber Trafficking Training in Vietnam
When a Florida couple is sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for illegally importing and selling up to $65 million worth of plywood products, it provides an excellent opportunity to showcase the investigation that uncovered significant violations of the Lacey Act and customs laws.
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03.29.2024
International Trafficker of Counterfeit Apple Products, Sentenced
SAN DIEGO – A California man identified as an organizer and leader of an international conspiracy to traffic counterfeit Apple products has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison. Zhiwei “Allen” Liao was also ordered to forfeit two residences along with $120,370 in U.S. currency and more than 200 Apple devices seized during the investigation.
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03.21.2024
Avoiding more than $1 million in duties, tariffs brings guilty pleas
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – An investigation conducted jointly between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-San Juan and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has uncovered a conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States to avoid paying more than $1 million in duties and tariffs.
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03.20.2024
HOUSTON – The leader of an animal trafficking ring has been sentenced to federal prison for selling endangered wildlife in violation of the Lacey Act following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-Houston, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.
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03.20.2024
HSI Philadelphia-led investigation leads to seizure of domains used for alleged drug trafficking
PHILADELPHIA- Special agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI)-Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Seattle field offices, along with HSI-Brussels, and the National Police Force of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, coordinated the international takedown of four domain servers allegedly used to sell fake pharmaceutical grade drugs. Some of the drugs contained methamphetamine and fentanyl and were unlawfully distributed across the United States.
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03.11.2024
International case shines spotlight on HSI’s new environmental crimes unit
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents assigned to the newly created Wildlife and Environmental Crimes Unit (WECU) have been recognized for their cooperation and support of an investigation that has led to sanctions against two companies - one in Russia and one in the Central African Republic (CAR) - for their efforts in advancing Russia’s nefarious activities in the CAR.
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03.11.2024
Sentencing scheduled in counterfeit airbag case
WASHINGTON – A retired auto mechanic in Memphis, Tennessee faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court to charges of trafficking counterfeit airbags and causing a dangerous item or forbidden explosive to be placed onto a commercial aircraft.
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03.07.2024
Major greenhouse gas smuggling investigation leads to first U.S. criminal arrest
WASHINGTON – An environmental enforcement operation conducted cooperatively between Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has led to the first criminal arrest in the United States on charges of smuggling potent greenhouse gases into the U.S.
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02.07.2024
IPR Center seizes over $28M in counterfeit sports merchandise ahead of Super Bowl LVIII
LAS VEGAS – Today, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) announced the seizure of approximately 94,000 counterfeit sports-related items during the past year, worth an estimated $28.1 million during a joint press conference with the National Football League (NFL).
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01.29.2024
Operation Team Player is a partnership between the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Custom and Border Protection (CBP) and major sports leagues to prevent the illegal import and sale of fake sports merchandise.
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12.08.2023
The National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPRCenter) wants to remind everyone that all consumers should have an enjoyable shoppingexperience free from counterfeit or stolen goods or pirated streaming content.
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