Smugglers Brought $450M In Fake Designer Purses Into NYC: Feds

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A massive smuggling ring that snuck knock-off Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors and Chanel merch worth hundreds of millions of dollars into New York was busted by police Thursday morning, officials said.

Twenty-two people will face charges of counterfeit, smuggling and money laundering in Brooklyn Criminal Court for bringing almost $500 million worth of luxury items into the United States, according to federal prosecutors.

The goods — which included fake Louis Vuitton handbags, imitation Hermes belts and knock-off Chanel Perfume — were smuggled in 40-foot containers that were disguised as legitimate imports and carted onto U.S.-bound ships in China, prosecutors said.

Defendants Qi Feng Liang, Wo Qi Liu, Zhi Ming Zhang and Yu Ming Wong smuggled the knock-offs through the Port of New York/New Jersey by providing authorities with “burner” phone numbers and email accounts in forms that lied about the containers’ contents, said prosecutors.

They then shipped 23 40-foot boxes filled with $450 million worth of fake purses, wallets, belts and perfume to storage facilities in Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island, prosecutors said.

Defendants Wei Mei Gao, Sheng Miao Xia and Jie Mei Chen used private shipping businesses they controlled to send the fake merch across the United States, including in New York, and California, prosecutors said.

Josstina Lin, Xue Wei Qu, Xi Quan Huang, Yun Lei Huang, Yun Wu Huang, Si Lung Chung, Le Wei Zheng, Xiao Ying Huang, Qiong Chan Mu, Ren Zhong Zhu, Cheng Xu Yu, Jin Hua Zhang, Jian Hua Zhu, Yong Lin Dong and Cai Ying Lin managed the wholesale of the counterfeit goods, said prosecutors.

The fake purse crew was arrested Thursday morning and are slated to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court later Thursday afternoon, officials said.

“As alleged, the defendants used many forms of deception to smuggle large quantities of counterfeit luxury brand goods from China into the United States, and then profited by distributing and selling the fake merchandise,” said United States Attorney Richard Donoghue.

“This Office, working with our law enforcement partners, is committed to securing our country’s ports of entry, as well as to protecting the integrity of intellectual property upon which free and fair international trade and markets depend.”

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