WARREN, Mich. – There was a massive counterfeit of goods bust involving purses, sunglasses, and other merchandise with brand names like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace.
The items weren’t authentic, and now several people face charges in a big counterfeiting bust.
Investigators heard the bogus items were being sold out of a local flea market, so they went undercover, and they went shopping.
It’s a case that spans Warren and Sterling Heights, where six of the seven people accused just appeared before a judge.
One by one, six people appeared for video arraignments late Tuesday (June 28) inside the Warren District Court.
Each person is charged with a felony and faces a possible five years in prison, including a mother and son, a husband and wife, and some senior citizens as officials say they were involved with the sale of counterfeit goods.
“June 24, 2022, our undercover officers purchased a Louis Vuitton purse for $1,000 with a market value above $35,000,” said Warren Police Detective Collin McCabe.
Undercover Warren police officers say they made buys of the fake merchandise from the defendants at the County Line Trade Center on Dequindre Road in Warren.
Investigators say they also served a search warrant at the home of Mohammed Salam on Anna Street in Warren, making an eye-opening discovery that the home was packed with high-end items that were all counterfeit.
“We executed a search warrant in his home, and one of the rooms from the floor to the ceiling had counterfeit goods,” McCabe said. “Counterfeit shoes, counterfeit Yeezy shoes, Nikes, Timberlands, shirts, jackets, belts, hats. We spent roughly two hours gathering that evidence. We seized more than 2,00 items from that house.”
A woman at that house told Local 4 that she knew the items were fake, and selling counterfeit items is against the law.