THOUSANDS OF COUNTERFEIT CD'S, DVD'S AND COMPUTER SOFTWARE PROGRAMS ARE SHIPPED FROM CAIRO EGYPT TO THE PORT OF TAMPA EVERY MONTH. The merchandise (manufactured in China) is picked up by a local truck driver and then delivered to a variety of convenience stores in the greater Tampa area (linked to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad) where it is retailed at discounted prices resulting in huge profits. In February alone, over 150 shipments of the counterfeit merchandise were received at the Port of Tampa resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales. Such shipments of counterfeit merchandise result in very high profits that can be used to support terrorism through Trade Based Money Laundering, counterfeit goods coming into the USA, then goods are purchased with the profits from the counterfeit material such as used vehicles, the vehicles are shipped out of the USA for resale to Dubai (at 2 to 3 times the USA retail), no cash crosses the border......
WASHINGTON-Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division, Assistant Director James Finch of the FBI's Cyber Division, Assistant Secretary Julie L. Myers, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Commissioner W. Ralph Basham, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) (SEE INFORMATION ABOUT PORT OF TAMPA), and Inspector Peter Goulet of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) today announced the results to date of an ongoing international enforcement initiative between the United States and Canada that targets the illegal distribution of counterfeit network hardware manufactured in China.
This ongoing initiative has resulted in more than 400 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $76 million. It is being led by ICE, CBP and the FBI working in conjunction with the Criminal Division's Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section, U.S. Attorney's Offices across the country, and the RCMP.
The initiative targets the illegal importation and sale of counterfeit network hardware, in particular network routers, switches, network cards and modules manufactured by Cisco. By intercepting the counterfeit hardware at ports of entry (TAMPA) and dismantling illegal supply chains in the U.S., the operation has achieved significant successes in protecting the public from the risk of network infrastructure failures associated with these counterfeits.
"Counterfeit network hardware entering the marketplace raises significant public safety concerns and must be stopped. This initiative shows that through collaboration among law enforcement agencies and prosecutors worldwide, we can achieve dramatic enforcement results and protect public safety," said Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division. "It is critically important that network administrators in both private sector and government perform due diligence in order to prevent counterfeit hardware from being installed on their networks."
The FBI named its portion of this ongoing initiative Operation Cisco Raider-an international, coordinated investigation of 15 cases involving nine FBI field offices (Tampa). The FBI worked closely with law enforcement partners including ICE, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, General Services Administration, Department of the Interior, Internal Revenue Service, and the RCMP. Over the last two years, Operation Cisco Raider has resulted in 36 search warrants that identified approximately 3,500 counterfeit network components with an estimated retail value of over $3.5 million, and has led to a total of ten convictions and $1.7 million in restitution.
ICE and CBP opened a total of 28 investigations in 17 separate field offices since 2005; eight of those investigations were worked jointly with the FBI and several with the RCMP.
Some of the cases involved with this initiative across the United States include the following:
On February 14, 2008, in the Northern District of Georgia, Todd Richard, 33, was sentenced to 36 months' imprisonment and ordered to pay $208,440 in restitution to Cisco Systems, Inc., as a result of his conviction for trafficking in counterfeit Cisco computer products. From late 2003 until early 2007, Richard imported shipments of counterfeit Cisco computer components from China, and separate shipments of counterfeit Cisco labels. He then affixed the fake labels to the fake components and sold the products on eBay, claiming that they were legitimate Cisco items. Richard sold over $1 million worth of counterfeit Cisco products in this manner. This case was investigated by ICE and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
On February 14, 2008, in the Northern District of Georgia, Todd Richard, 33, was sentenced to 36 months' imprisonment and ordered to pay $208,440 in restitution to Cisco Systems, Inc., as a result of his conviction for trafficking in counterfeit Cisco computer products. From late 2003 until early 2007, Richard imported shipments of counterfeit Cisco computer components from China, and separate shipments of counterfeit Cisco labels. He then affixed the fake labels to the fake components and sold the products on eBay, claiming that they were legitimate Cisco items. Richard sold over $1 million worth of counterfeit Cisco products in this manner. This case was investigated by ICE and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
On January 4, 2008, in the Southern District of Texas, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Michael Edman, 36, and his brother Robert Edman, 28, with trafficking in counterfeit Cisco products. The indictment alleges that the Edmans purchased and imported the counterfeit computer network hardware from an individual in China. They later sold the counterfeit Cisco products to retailers of computer network products throughout the United States. According to the indictment, the Edmans shipped some of the counterfeit hardware directly to the Marine Corps, Air Force, Federal Aviation Administration, FBI, defense contractors, universities and financial institutions. These entities had purchased the product from a computer retailer serving as a middleman, which in turn purchased the products from the Edmans (a process known as "drop shipping"). The case was investigated by ICE and is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas.
The investigations are ongoing throughout the U.S. (including the Port of Tampa).
Bill Warner
Private Investigator
WBI Inc Private Detective Agecny
Sarasota Fl
