Five people have been charged in an international counterfeiting scam involving nearly half a million pairs of knock-off Nike Air Jordans, and an unknown number of gullible sneakerheads.
For the last two years, the counterfeit ring has imported dozens of containers of unlabeled sneakers from China to the Port of Newark, authorities said on Tuesday. The sneakers, made to look like various iterations of Jordans, were then allegedly transported to Brooklyn and Queens, where the defendants affixed them with the Nike-trademarked logos, and sold them.
In total, the men are accused of bilking Nike out of more than $70 million, through the distribution of around 380,000 pairs of shoes. The average pair can retail for nearly $200—and remain very much a thing in the hypebeast community.
The five defendants—Mikuki Suen, 43, Jian Min Huang, 42, Songhua Qu, 54, Kin Lui Chen, 53 and Fangrang Qu, 31—were charged with trafficking conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods. Each faces a max sentence of 20 years in prison.
"I commend our law enforcement partners for helping to bring today’s charges, which send a clear message to would-be counterfeiters: ‘Just don’t do it,'" said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a statement.
Slam dunk, guys.
