Local Business Owners Nabbed in Counterfeit Sweep
A woman who used to run an accessories store on the ground floor of the California Market Center in Los Angeles has been charged with selling counterfeit handbags and wallets, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Fatemeh Jaghouri, 47, of Glendale, Calif., appeared on Aug. 18 in U.S. District Court, where she was charged with one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Jaghouri agreed to plead guilty to trafficking in counterfeit goods that had fake trademarks registered by Gucci America, Salvatore Ferragamo Italia, Louis Vuitton Malletier and Fendi, among others.
Jaghouri, who owned Augment Accessories in suite C5 of the CMC, was accused of importing 360 boxes of counterfeit items from China. After going through U.S. Customs at the Port of Los Angeles, Jaghouri kept the merchandise in a warehouse that she controlled, according to the government.
The U.S. Attorney’s office said it expects Jaghouri to plead guilty to selling fake designer bags before U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz on Aug. 26. She could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a $2 million fine.
Augment Accessories no longer exists in the CMC. The store has been replaced by Luca Accessories.
Sitting in the back office of Luca Accessories, Jaghouri said that she neither owns nor works at the store and that she dissolved Augment Accessories six months ago. She declined to comment about the charges.
In addition, Christopher Burke Carter, 26, was arrested in his Monterey Park, Calif., home on Aug. 18 in connection with the counterfeit- goods scheme. He was charged with operating the warehouse that stored and sold the goods. On Aug. 20, he appeared before U.S. District Judge Stephen J. Hillman, who set his bond at $10,000. A preliminary hearing on the trafficking in counterfeit goods charge is set for Sept. 2, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Elena Duarte.
Jaghouri and Carter were apprehended after agents from the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Defense, targeted a Los Angeles retail store in July 2002 that allegedly was selling fake goods. The store owner said an individual named “Mr. Lee” offered to sell designer-inspired goods manufactured by Vani Co. Ltd. in China.
According to government documents, Vani has a showroom at 1058 S. Main St. in Los Angeles, another on Santee Street and a Monterey Park warehouse.
In January 2003, Vani imported about 400 cartons of goods into the United States from China, government agents said. Customs inspectors examined the cartons and discovered thousands of counterfeit designer handbags and wallets.
On April 1, ICE agents executed federal search warrants at Vani’s showrooms on Main and Santee streets and at the Monterey Park warehouse. The government said the agents seized approximately 570 cartons of counterfeit bags and wallets. Officials identified Carter, who speaks fluent Mandarin Chinese, as the warehouse manager.
Carter was later arrested. —Deborah Belgum
