Amazon seller made illegal profits of up to $18 million and will be sentenced to 22 years!

You can only feel at ease if you make money. You must not seek short-term gains. Another seller has fallen into trouble. He made a profit of up to 18 million US dollars through illegal sales, but was eventually sentenced to 22 years in prison.

A few days ago, a man pleaded guilty to federal criminal charges in the United States for selling counterfeit batteries, for which he faces a 22-year sentence.

According to the man's confession, the batteries and packaging were imported from China to the United States and then sold through Amazon and eBay.

The matter was exposed in December 2019, when a large number of counterfeit products were found in the man's warehouse, including about 44,000 laptop batteries and other electronic products, and 175,000 trademarks printed with counterfeit trademarks of many well-known brands such as Apple, Dell, HP, Toshiba, Lenovo, Asus, Acer and Samsung.

In order to import and sell these counterfeit products more conveniently, he also established several companies in the United States. After investigation, it was found that in addition to himself, there were seven accomplices in this crime, six of whom lived in China and have not yet been prosecuted.

The Chinese accomplices used various means to hide the trademarks so that they could pass customs inspection and be shipped to the United States. Later, they disguised them as new, genuine, original or OEM (original equipment manufacturer) products, and even forged the certification mark of UL (a company that tests and certifies the safety of electronic products). It is so realistic that it is difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish the authenticity from the surface.

According to his own admission, this criminal activity began in March 2014. During this period, he and his accomplices made illegal profits of at least US$3.5 million, and possibly as much as US$23 million, by selling counterfeit batteries on eBay and Amazon. The amount of money transferred from US accounts to Chinese bank accounts also reached US$18 million.

These counterfeit batteries pose a serious safety hazard, including the risk of fire and explosion, and they are not taken necessary safety measures during transportation.

The case will be heard in the United States on October 4, when the man faces a statutory maximum sentence of 22 years in federal prison.

"A gentleman loves money but gets it in a proper way." If you try to take shortcuts, you must be prepared to fail. Small sellers should just do their business honestly. If they want to survive in the long run, operating in compliance with regulations is the most important thing.

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Illegal sales