U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and import specialists at the Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport, working alongside U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) investigators, and Gibson representatives, announced the seizure of more than 3,000 counterfeit Gibson guitars. If authentic, the guitars would have carried a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) totaling $18,742,820 (USD).
These counterfeit guitars are becoming harder to distinguish from the originals. Fortunately, both the manufacturers and law enforcement agencies remain vigilant in their efforts to stop the sale of these forgeries.
Cheryl M. Davies, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, said in a statement: “These fraudulent guitars may look and feel legitimate for unsuspecting consumers buying them from third party online sources, street markets, unauthorized retailers, and person-to-person transactions. As we approach the busy Holiday shopping season, consumers should pay attention on where they are buying these goods and how much they are paying, and if is too good to be true it probably is.”
“Intellectual property theft is not a victimless crime. Victims are American consumers, businesses, trademark holders and people who manufacture and sell legitimate products. Often, the illicit proceeds resulting from the sale of counterfeit or unlicensed products are funneled back to support a broad range of illegal activities,” said HSI Los Angeles Deputy Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco.
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