U.S. arraigns alleged counterfeit electronic importers

The Justice Department arraigned four people in Newark, N.J. based on charges of allegedly smuggling fake handheld electronic devices from China into the United States.    The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday arraigned four people in Newark, N.J. based on charges of allegedly smuggling fake handheld electronic devices from China for sale in the United States.
   Those arraigned include Andreina Becerra, a Venezuelan national, and Roberto Volpe, an Italian national, both of whom live in Miami, Fla.; Jianhua Li, a Chinese national who resides in Guangzhou, China; and Rosario La Marca, an Italian national and resident of Italy. They are charged in an eight-count indictment for importing and trafficking fake iPhones, iPads and iPods bearing counterfeit Apple trademarks and fake camcorders showing counterfeit Sony trademarks, as well as smuggling, structuring and international money laundering.
   The defendants were arrested last week in a coordinated multi-district effort by federal agents in Los Angeles, Miami and Newark. 
   According to the allegations in the indictment, from July 2009 through February 2014, the defendants conspired to smuggle into the United States from China more than 40,000 electronic devices and accessories, with a potential retail value in excess of $15 million.
   To avoid detection by U.S. Customs officials, the devices often were shipped separately from the labels bearing counterfeit trademarks, and then were labeled and packaged after they passed through Customs. The Justice Department added the defendants then re-shipped the devices throughout the United States to co-conspirators.