Feb 20, 2015
Faking It Follow Up: Caught In China
As TSN Senior Correspondent Rick Westhead writes, a Pennsylvania man who was charged with importing more than 8,500 counterfeit jerseys from China between September 2007 and July 2014 pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to three years probation.
A Pennsylvania man who was charged with importing more than 8,500 counterfeit hockey, baseball, football and basketball jerseys from China between September 2007 and July 2014, providing photos of authentic jerseys to Chinese manufacturers to help them produce high-quality fakes, pleaded guilty and has been sentenced to three years probation.
In September, U.S. prosecutors charged 62-year-old Neil Robinson of Bensalem and his 30-year-old son Shawn Robinson with conspiracy to import counterfeits. Neil Robinson faced up to 175 years in prison and a fine of $15.5 million (all figures U.S.).
Assistant U.S. Attorney Albert Glenn said in an interview that Neil Robinson faces three years probation and house arrest for the first 60 days of that sentence. He has been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device and is not allowed to leave his home, except for employment, medical or religious reasons.
Robinson, who admits paying $191,688 for fake jerseys since 2007, has also agreed to pay $31,000 in forfeiture and another $5,600 for restitution.
Shawn Robinson faces sentencing in April.
Glenn said his office's criminal investigation highlights how seriously the U.S. government takes counterfeiting. A recent TSN/W5 co-production explored the high stakes world of fake sports memorabilia.
In a civil lawsuit filed this month in Illinois against website operators in China that sell fake jerseys, the NHL and other leagues report traffic to sites suspected of offering pirated content eclipses 146 million visits per day. Such websites, including those that sell fake brand-name goods beyond the sports sector, are estimated to generate over $135 billion in annual online sales.
The indictment against the Robinsons showed how they went about buying fake jersey from China and selling them in North America.
"Make sure the factory takes their time though," Shawn Robinson wrote in one email. "People are starting to complain about some of the quality of the jerseys. Some crooked letters/numbers and buttons are coming off. I understand things happen but just wanted to let u know. Thanks buddy."
In December 2007, Shawn Robinson had a package sealed by U.S. Customs. His eBay account was suspended a year later.
In September 2009, Shawn Robinson emailed a Chinese supplier and offered to send pictures of NHL Winter Classic jerseys to help them make fake versions. "hey peter the flyers winter classic jerseys are out...if you need pics let me know...how long do you think it will take to make them...i have a lot of orders already...thanks shawn," he wrote, according to the indictment.
Three days later, he emailed China again. "For the Flyers...I would just make #17 #18 #20 #28... I wouldn't make anyone else.... those four are enough."
On Oct. 31, 2009, a Chinese supplier emailed Shawn Robinson 13 fake NHL jerseys.
Two years later, on Sept. 22, 2011, Neil Robinson emailed a customer that they were still in business, even after being caught by police.
"The Feds came in about 2 months ago and confiscated everyone's jerseys," Neil Robinson wrote to his Chinese supplier. "They also warned everyone with future fines and jail time. If u need something just let us know, We still sell. Just not visibly."
And, .indeed, they weren't done yet
On Nov. 21, 2011, Shawn Robinson emailed a manufacturer in China a photo of the Flyers' Winter Classic jerseys, saying "Real winter classic jerseys." A month later, on Dec. 20, 2011, a Chinese supplier shipped Shawn Robinson 29 NHL jerseys. Six days later, he was sent another 18.
The jig was up for good on July 1, 2014, when Neil Robinson sold three fake Major League Baseball jerseys to an undercover law enforcement officer.
In the case of the civil lawsuit filed this month in Illinois, the NHL, the NBA, Major League Baseball, and the Collegiate Licensing Co., which oversees licensing for many NCAA schools, filed a joint lawsuit against multiple owners of Chinese websites -- even though the leagues aren't sure who owns those websites.
Lawyers for the sports leagues wrote in court filings that the unknown owners of the Chinese Websites, who target North American customers, "further perpetuate the illusion of legitimacy ... by falsely alleging to offer 'live 24/7' customer service and making unauthorized use of ... authenticity and security (marks) that U.S. consumers have come to associate with legitimate retailers, including the McAfee Security and VeriSign trademarks."
The leagues wrote that traffic to sites suspected of offering pirated content has eclipsed 146 million visits per day. Such websites, including those that sell fake brand-name goods beyond the sports sector, are estimated to generate over $135 billion in annual online sales.
"Defendants go to great length to conceal their identities and often use multiple fictitious names and addresses to register and operate their massive network of defendant internet stores," the NHL and other leagues wrote. "For example, many of defendants' names and physical addresses used to register the defendant domain names are incomplete, contain randomly typed letters, or fail to include cities or states. Other defendant domain names use a privacy service that conceals the owner's identity and contact information."
A 2012 U.S. Customs and Border Protection report on seizure statistics indicated that the Internet has fueled "explosive growth" in the number of small packages of counterfeit goods shipped through the mail and express carriers.
The leagues have a several-pronged strategy with their litigation.
First, filing lawsuits allow them to seize the domain names of the illegitimate websites. It disrupts the business of counterfeiters.
Second, the leagues can ask the court to give them any money belonging to the counterfeiters that happens to be in accounts held by online payment providers such as Paypal.com or Alibaba.com.
The leagues have decided to sue in North American when Chinese counterfeiters are using English-language websites to sell to Western customers. For illegal websites in Chinese that sell to local customers, the North American leagues are filing lawsuits in the Chinese court system, a person familiar with the matter told TSN.
This week, a judge in Illinois granted the leagues' request for a temporary restraining order, shifting control of many website domains away from the counterfeiters and to the leagues, who had argued that without that order, the defendants would modify registration data and content, change hosts, redirect traffic to other websites in their control, and move any assets from U.S.-based bank accounts, including PayPal accounts, to offshore accounts.