The practice of selling counterfeit luxury brands is making a comeback in the heart of Los Angeles. While luxury stores are being robbed one after another, so-called counterfeit sales are flourishing on the black market.
The problem seems to be so serious that KOTRA LA recently held a seminar on counterfeit goods countermeasures with Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
It was noon on the September 6 in front of Santee Alley in the Fashion District Jobber Market, a popular spot for counterfeit sales in the LA area. Walking around pretending to be a tourist while hiding the reporters’ notebooks, about a dozen salesmen were hawking their wares in broad daylight.
One of them, a Hispanic man, snuck up on and said, “Are you looking for anything? We have Louis Vuitton, Prada, Hermes.”
I asked what they had and if I could see them now. He gestured for me to follow him. The sales floor seemed to be separate. We walked together for about two blocks. I told him I was looking for men’s wallets, bags, etc. and asked him specifically what brands and items he had.
“I hope you’re not the police,” the man said. “There are some investigators working ‘undercover’ again after a hiatus…”
The man flinched for a reason. CBP’s monthly counterfeit seizures are the highest since the pandemic. In July alone, CBP seized 1,698 shipments, according to the agency. The value of the counterfeit goods seized was more than $165 million. CBP is watching the counterfeit market with a hawk’s eye.
We stopped in front of a stall near 11th Street and Maple Avenue. The tented stall was filled with large and small paintings. The hawker whispered briefly to the black man in front of the stall. The black man then removed the paintings and blankets from the stall, revealing the counterfeit products. There were about 50 counterfeits on display.
I picked up a fake Louis Vuitton wallet, looked it over, and said, “The product looks a little shoddy. Where was it made, where did it come from?”
As I continued to ask questions, I noticed that the hawkers and vendors around me became a little nervous. I looked around and saw a couple of people huddled together, looking through the net to see if the police were coming.
The vendor, a black man, spoke urgently. “Most of them are from China or Turkey, but I can’t tell you where I bought them from,” he said, and he got a little agitated as he asked, “What are you looking for?”
According to CBP, counterfeiters can be penalized not only for the seller, but also for the buyer if they are intentional. “If you buy a large quantity of counterfeit goods and resell them for profit or transfer them with intent, you can be charged with a felony,” said CBP Public Affairs Officer Gerrelaine Alcordo. “You should also be wary of buying counterfeit goods because the proceeds could be used to fund other criminal activities, such as terrorism or human trafficking.”
In fact, the number of counterfeit sales has increased in recent years around Jobber market in Fashion District, especially in Santee Alley, according to business owners.
“It was quiet for a while due to the massive crackdown, but after the pandemic ended, we started to see counterfeiters again,” said a Korean American vendor at Jobber Market. “There are many people who sell fakes in the trunks of their cars, and they are very organized, operating as a kind of storefront, so when the rumor of the crackdown spreads, they disappear in an instant.”
It’s not just law enforcement that’s cracking down. Apart from investigative agencies, luxury brands are also involved. “In order to protect their trademark rights and image, companies are also hiring private companies to conduct investigations in areas where counterfeit sales are active,” said Keith Kim, a criminal lawyer. “They hand over the information to law enforcement agencies and later charge the counterfeiters for the cost of the private investigation.”
After checking out other counterfeit vendors, I headed back to 11th Street and Maple Avenue. It was the same spot the Hispanic man had led me to. The counterfeit products are nowhere to be seen, and only cheap paintings were there.
BY YEOL JANG [jang.yeol@koreadaily.com]
