SHERIFF’S POLICE CONFISCATE MORE THAN $5 MILLION IN COUNTERFEIT MERCHANDISE
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 — The owner of a Chicago store has been charged with felony trademark violations after Sheriff’s Police seized hundreds of cartons of counterfeit merchandise earlier this month, according to the office of Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.
More than 17,000 pieces of merchandise bearing counterfeit designer labels, including Chanel, Coach, Ed Hardy, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Prada, were being sold from a store located in the 3500 block of West Lawrence. The merchandise seized on December 10th, which included purses and sunglasses, filled two box trucks.
Keith Liu, 39, of the 2400 block of South Wentworth, Chicago, the store owner, turned himself in to Sheriff’s Police on Monday. Liu is scheduled to appear in bond court at Criminal Courts on Wednesday.
Xaixia Shen, 30, of the 500 block of West 28th Street, Chicago, who works at the store as a cashier, was arrested at the time of the raid and charged with misdemeanor trademark counterfeiting for selling the merchandise. Shen was released after posted $1,000 bond.
The items were being sold for between $20 and $60 each. If the items were authentic, the retail value of the seized items is estimated at $5.1 million.
