Source: Nike / NIke
Clearly, the market for counterfeit kicks can be lucrative, until you get caught. Five men got popped for allegedly selling $73M worth of bootleg Nike Air Jordans in the New York City area.
The $73M number is what they’d be worth if the kicks were real and sold for retail.
Reports ABC News:
Five people have been charged in New York with trafficking in counterfeit Nike Air Jordans, sneakers that, if authentic, would have been worth $73 million, according to the NYPD and Homeland Security Investigations.
The counterfeit sneakers look like real Air Jordans in design and color but lack the logos that are registered trademarks, court records said.
After the fakes arrived at the Port of Newark from China, they were taken to locations in Brooklyn and Queens where the logos were added and then distributed for sale, NYPD and HSI investigators said.
For the last two years the counterfeiting ring has shipped 42 containers full of these generic sneakers that would retail for $190 per pair, court records said.
Reportedly, Miyuki Suen, Jian Min Huang, Songhua Qu, Kin Lui Chen and Fangrang Qu have all been charged with counterfeit trafficking conspiracy and trafficking in counterfeit goods.
Somewhere, the plug is irate.
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Photo: Jordan Brand
