News Releases and Statements

Federal authorities crack down on the illegal importation and sale of counterfeit sports apparel and entertainment products through Operation Team Player, a year-round effort developed by the IPR Center.

The IPR Center, working collaboratively with its public and private sector partners, stands at the forefront of the United States government's response to combatting global intellectual property theft and enforcing intellectual property rights violations.

The IPR Center, in conjunction with Michigan State University’s A-CAPP Center, hosted a discussion, April 26, with Sean Williams, Co-Founder of Detroit -vs- Everybody to discuss brand protection to help creatives protect their business against IP theft in support of World Intellectual Property Day 2022.

The IPR Center and the RIAA will implement an aggressive multi-layered strategy to strengthen the digital ecosystem, conduct joint training events, educate consumers on the dangers of illegal streaming, enforce the nation’s intellectual property rights laws, and dismantle large-scale online criminal enterprises.

ICE's HSI New Orleans seized 384 counterfeit items valued at an estimated $375,925, during an IPR operation April 1-4.

A federal grand jury returned the two-count indictment against Bok Nyo Kim, 72, a legal permanent resident and Henry Yuseok Kim, 45, both citizens of South Korea residing in Laredo.

Today, the IPR Center, the NFL, CBP, the Los Angeles Sheriff Department and ICE HSI announced that more than 267, 511 counterfeit sports-related items, worth an estimated $97.8 million, were seized during Operation Team Player.

By embedding MPA and ACE personnel to the team at the IPR Center in Washington D.C. and other resources to the expanded framework, the partnering organizations are able to further expand their collective content protection efforts.

HSI is working with local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to provide essential public safety measures in and around the Los Angeles area. Measures include, but are not limited to, investigating human trafficking and intellectual property rights violations. The goal is to help address criminal threats the public, the National Football League, and the city of Inglewood may face leading up to and throughout Super Bowl LVI week, between Feb. 6-13.

The HSI-led initiative, dubbed Operation Safety Claus, was supported by CBP and the Louisiana Bureau of Investigation, with support from the U.S. FDA Office of Criminal Investigations. The coordinated federal law enforcement operation focused on interrupting counterfeit efforts in the New Orleans metro area during the holiday shopping season. In total, the seized counterfeit items had a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $1,012,942.

The operation led to the arrest of 12 suspects this year, the seizure of nearly $3 million worth of counterfeit goods ahead of Cyber Monday, and the opening of 48 criminal cases.

The holiday shopping toolkit includes online shopping do’s and don’ts, ways to protect financial and banking information, educational videos and infographics, and general information on how to spot fake merchandise.  

According to court filings, Gree Zhuhai, Gree Hong Kong and Gree USA (collectively, the Gree Companies) knew their dehumidifiers were defective, failed to meet applicable safety standards and could catch fire, but the companies failed to report that information to the CPSC for months. The companies only reported and recalled the dehumidifiers after consumer complaints of fires and resulting harm continued to mount.

Zoulin “Allen” Cai, 30, of La Puente, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, who also ordered the defendant to pay $9,227,543 in restitution and a $25,000 fine.

The jury found the following two aluminum businesses and four warehousing companies – all of which were related to one another – guilty of one count of conspiracy, nine counts of wire fraud and seven counts of passing false and fraudulent papers through a customhouse: Perfectus Aluminum Inc.; Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC; Scuderia Development LLC; 1001 Doubleday LLC; Von Karman – Main Street LLC; 10681 Production Avenue LLC.

On Aug. 3, HSI special agents seized 12,688 pieces of counterfeit merchandise valued at $13,479,402, an Apple computer, an external hard drive, catalogs listing counterfeit merchandise for sale, and numerous business documents.

HSI Nogales Task Force officers seized 6,628 pieces of attire, with an MSRP value of $10,483,082.

As the result of a probe by HSI Los Angeles, Chan Hung Le, 46, of Laguna Hills, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton, who also ordered him to pay a $250,000 fine.

As a result of an investigation by HSI Los Angeles with assistance from the brand-holding companies, Zoulin Cai, a.k.a. “Allen Cai,” 29, of La Puente, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The counterfeit N95 masks were purchased by the State of Maine over a series of transactions occurring in late 2020 and early 2021. HSI worked with the State of Maine and 3M to verify the masks fraudulent origin. HSI and law enforcement partners work together regularly to prevent dangerous counterfeit products from reaching U.S. consumers.

The IPR Center today announced dual partnerships with Grace Farms Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused ending modern slavery and violence, and Liberty Shared, a global counter-trafficking nongovernmental organization, to advance their collective shared missions of eliminating wildlife and other natural capital trafficking crimes around the world.

The partnership represents an important step for global intellectual property rights protection and will focus on mutual goals that allow for the exchange and sharing of information between the Law School and the IPR Center to develop a unified approach in the enforcement of intellectual property rights around the world.

This joint initiative provides resources – free of charge – to aid small to mid-size businesses in protecting themselves against IP theft, fraud and cyber security awareness.

Over 1,000 items were confiscated, including several boxes of luxury designer goods such as high-end purses, caps, shoes and sunglasses.

The IPR Center, DoJ and the leading manufactures of the COVID-19 vaccine, are investigating reports of these fraudulent COVID-19 vaccine surveys enticing consumers to provide personal information with the promise of a prize or cash at the conclusion of the survey.