Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling Counterfeit Electronics

The Los Angeles times recently reported that a store owner located in Costa Mesa, CA was caught and sentences to prison for selling counterfeit electronics. The man who was the store owner was reportedly selling circuits that were originally purchased from suppliers in China. These purchased products were far from new for use, they were old, previously used and/or discarded. The store owner would acquire these items and then re-mark the electronics with brand names and market them as new products. This process of selling counterfeit electronics went on over a span of seven years. The seller admitted that he contacted a Chinese company to create a report of his products for him. There were two different reports they would run for him, one report that showed true results and another that was cleaned up and did not involve any facts that would make it known they were old used products. 

In any circumstance, selling counterfeit products is an action that can cause harm and danger to consumers. Counterfeit electronics have been slipping into many consumer hands as we mentioned with the Nikon camera issue in a previous post. This particular circuit incident had potential for extreme harm and danger due to the counterfeit circuits landing in a classified Air Force weapon system. The store owner would use the alias, James Harrison while he was selling these items to an undercover federal agent. The owner was under the impression that his items would be used by the U.S. military for an air craft. These circuits were sold to the undercover federal agent for seven months until the Store owner was caught for his crimes. 

The convicted criminal admitted to his crimes and gave enough information to diminish the safety issue that was of concern due to his transactions. This man has been sentenced to 46 months as well as having to pay a fee over $100,000. The Los Angeles Times story released specific information regarding this case and the store owner. It is a devastation that over a span of seven years countless counterfeit products were being sold while consumers were under the impression, they were purchasing items by companies such as Intel and more. It is important as a consumer to be aware of who and where you are purchasing your items from for the safety of yourself and others.