$1 Million in Counterfeit Clothing Discovered at Westbury Warehouse: Police

A Queens man was placed under arrest after police say they discovered more than $1 million worth of fake designer clothing inside a Westbury warehouse Thursday in what officials are calling the largest counterfeit manufacturing bust in New York State history.

Nassau County Sheriffs were executing a landlord tenant warrant of eviction at a commercial warehouse, located at 75B Rushmore St., at 9:50 a.m. when they discovered:

• Hundreds of boxes of assorted clothing
• Numerous industrial-type embroidery machines
• Brand-name labels from The North Face, True Religion, Lacoste, Polo and UGG that were going to be attached to clothing

Officials believe the embroidery machines illegally labeled approximately 16 million articles of clothing, according to County Executive Ed Mangano.

A search of the warehouse on Friday by a counterfeit apparel expert, Nassau County Police and the Nassau County District Attorney Office of Economic Crimes determined an excess of $1 million in counterfeit goods was inside the warehouse, police say.

The man leasing the warehouse was placed under arrest. Guosheng Hu, 42, of Bayside was charged with second-degree counterfeiting. He was arraigned Friday at First District Court in Hempstead.

• See also:Westbury Flea Market Vendors Busted for Selling Counterfeit Goods: Police

“Counterfeiting defrauds our consumers by providing them inferior quality goods and robs artists and designers of their work product – all while damaging the designer’s brand with poor quality knockoffs and undermining innovation,” Mangano said in a press release. “This arrest stops a major distribution chain in its tracks.”

United States Department of Homeland Security representatives are further investigating the possible use of seaports and airports as means of delivery and transport the labels to the warehouse.

“This arrest will have a tremendous impact on the distribution of this unsafe, subpar merchandise,” Acting Commissioner of Police Thomas Krumpter said.