Raids on Duluth stores net $100,000 in fake goods

Star Tribune

Last update: November 11, 2009 - 8:36 PM

More than $100,000 in phony merchandise, from designer purses and clothing to pro sports team jerseys, has been seized from three Duluth businesses, city and federal authorities said.

Police and federal immigration investigators searched three stores and confiscated more than 1,600 items, police said. Charges against the business owners are being pursued.

According to police, on Oct. 20, a search of the New U Clothing Store at 207 E. Superior St. found counterfeit designer purses patterned after those made by Dooney and Bourke, Dolce and Gabanna, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Prada and Fendi. Fake designer clothing also was seized bearing such names as Coogi, Sean Jean, Apple Bottom, Evisu, Roca Wear and Nike, including Air Jordans.

The next day, at Christopher's Clothing, 305 W. Superior St., counterfeit clothing was seized bearing designer names such as Coogi, Evisu, Roca Wear, Lacoste, Ed Hardy, Apple Bottom and Baby Phat, police said. And on Friday, at Fred and Mark's Sports World, 1600 Miller Trunk Hwy., jerseys and T-shirts bearing trademarks from major pro sports teams were confiscated.

Counterfeit items are often sold at less than half of what the authentic item would fetch. Authorities say that counterfeiting and piracy have been growing and cost the U.S. economy up to $250 billion per year and 750,000 American jobs.

PAUL WALSH

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