The seller was caught selling counterfeit goods, and the amount involved was as high as 41 million US dollars!

On August 2, five sellers from Amazon and eBay were convicted by the court for allegedly selling counterfeit Apple and Samsung products, with the amount involved reaching US$41 million.

In the U.S. District Court, a jury convicted the five criminals , Pavel Babichenko, Piotr Babichenko, Timofey Babichenko, David Bibikov and Mikhail Iyerusalimets , of 24 counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit trademarked goods, wire fraud, mail fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods .

Two of the defendants , Kristina Babichenko and Anna Iyerusalimets, were acquitted. The convicted defendants faced up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for wire fraud and mail fraud. They also faced up to 10 years in prison and a $5 million fine for trafficking in counterfeit goods .

Evidence showed that the defendants purchased counterfeit cell phones and cell phone accessories in bulk from Chinese manufacturers, repackaged these products in the Treasure Valley of Idaho, and then resold them to consumers on Amazon and eBay as genuine products. The defendants continued to sell these products despite receiving multiple warnings from U.S. Customs and Border Protection regarding the importation of counterfeit goods .

At the same time, the defendants repeatedly ignored cease and desist letters from companies such as Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics America, Inc. When Amazon and other companies identified the defendants as sellers of counterfeit products and suspended their selling privileges, the defendants continued to sell counterfeit products by submitting false invoices and action plans, changing their company names and strategies , regaining access to the Amazon platform, and continuing this pattern for approximately ten years.

“The defendants engaged in an organized criminal operation that violated the intellectual property rights of Apple and Samsung products by trafficking in counterfeit phones, chargers and batteries, defrauded American consumers and endangered public safety for their own financial gain , ” said U.S. Attorney Josh Hurwit .

“ This sentencing demonstrates the FBI’s unwavering commitment to combating transnational organized crime, which poses the greatest threat to America’s national and economic security,” said Dennis Rice, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Salt Lake City . “ Our strong partners in Idaho and around the world help dismantle these criminal organizations that seek to profit from the vast sums of money they defraud American people and businesses . ”

Selling counterfeit products is a very serious violation of the law in foreign countries , and the offender may be fined or face jail time. At the same time, major e-commerce platforms have always cracked down on counterfeit goods, so sellers must not knowingly sell counterfeit goods and take risks .

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Selling fake goods