Watch Now


Multimillion-dollar fake Nike case brings more guilty pleas

Multimillion-dollar fake Nike case brings more guilty pleas

One of the largest counterfeit-smuggling cases in U.S. history resulted in guilty pleas by two more defendants last week.

   Wei Tung Lam and Sam Kuen Chan pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and trafficking charges Tuesday for their part in a smuggling ring that attempted to bring more than $69 million in counterfeit Nike shoes into the United States. The more than 135,000 pairs of fake Nike athletic shoes were uncovered in 78 shipping containers seized last July in Arizona, California and Texas.

   The two defendants, set to be sentenced in July and August, took the same legal course as three other members of the scheme who also pleaded guilty to similar charges in April. An additional defendant remains at large and is believed by U.S. authorities to be in China.

   All six were indicted last August for conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods and conspiring to bribe an undercover federal agent posing as a Customs and Border Protection agent.