Nearly 800 counterfeit jewelry worth over $3M seized in Cincinnati

The items were deemed to be counterfeit by the agency’s Centers of Excellence and Expertise.

If they had been real, officials said the pieces would’ve been worth around $3.16 million.

The first shipment on Oct. 25 included 379 counterfeit pieces of jewelry with logos from brands like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior, Versace, and Hermes. The shipment was heading to a home in Kingsland, Texas.

On Oct.26, a second shipment was seized. This one, which was also heading to the same home in Texas, had 206 counterfeit watches with the trademarks of Cartier, Rolex, Versace, Coach, and Tous.

The last shipment, seized on Oct. 28, contained 210 pieces of counterfeit jewelry with the trademarks for Van Cleef and Cartier. This shipment was heading to a home in Doral, Florida.

Everything that was seized was referred to Homeland Security Investigations for further investigation and action.

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“No one buys a luxury brand watch or piece of jewelry expecting it to fail or fall apart. 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,” LaFonda D. Sutton-Burke, Director of Field Operations, Chicago Field Office, said.

CBP said consumers can take the following steps to protect themselves and their families from counterfeit goods:

• Purchase goods directly from the trademark holder or authorized retailers.
• When shopping online, read seller reviews and check for a working U.S. phone number and an address so you can contact the seller.
• Review CBP’s E-Commerce Counterfeit Awareness Guide for Consumers.
• Remember if the price of a product seems too good to be true, it probably is.