$8.7M in Fake Jewelry Seized in Cincinnati and Indianapolis

CINCINNATI — U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Cincinnati and Indianapolis seized four large shipments of counterfeit jewelry.

Federal officers in Indianapolis and Cincinnati seized several shipments containing counterfeit jewelry.

In all, the jewelry would have been worth $8.7 if it were genuine.

On Dec. 24, CBP officers in Cincinnati seized a shipment containing 13,467 pieces of counterfeit jewelry bearing trademarks of Bvlgari, Cartier, Coach, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors, Rolex, Tiffany, Tori Burch and Versace. The jewelry, which came from China, would have been worth a total of $3,7 million had it been genuine.

Eleven days later, Indianapolis CBP stopped a shipment of 1,272 pieces of counterfeit jewelry bearing trademarks from multiple brands valued at $2.1 million. The following day, Indianapolis officers seized two shipments, one containing 278 items of counterfeit Cartier and Hermes bracelets and the other 1,680 items bearing trademarks including Chanel, Dior, Pandora, Prada and Tiffany. The shipments would have been worth $2 million and $900,000, respectively, had they been real.

The packages were headed to private residences in Laredo, TX; Omaha, NE; and White Plains, NY.

“This is just another example of the work our officers do to protect consumers and the U.S. economy,” said LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, director of field operations for Chicago. “As consumers increasingly purchase from online or third-party vendors, our officers are at the frontline to guard against defrauders expecting to make money selling fake merchandise.”