Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Counterfeit Goods at Kansas City Store

KANSAS CITY, KS—A man has pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit goods at a store in Kansas City, Kansas, including shoes labeled as Nike Air Force 1 and shirts labeled as Polo Ralph Lauren, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Jehad Shalabi, 45, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit trademark goods. During a hearing today, prosecutors told the judge that Shalabi sold counterfeit goods at a retail store called Joe Black Inc. at 3201 State Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas.

Agents of the FBI made undercover purchases at the store, including a counterfeit trademark pair of Nike Air Force 1 shoes on February 22, 2011, and a counterfeit trademark Polo Ralph Lauren knit shirt on June 9, 2011. On June 30, 2011, Shalabi sold a counterfeit trademark NBA Chicago Bulls hat.

On June 28, 2011, agents served a search warrant at the store and seized approximately 588 counterfeit items with trademarks including Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike, Major League Baseball, Nervous Tattoo (Ed Hardy and Christian Audigier), Luxirie, Rocawear, and Coogi.

Investigators learned that counterfeit goods made up approximately 20 percent of the store’s weekly sales of $4,000 to $6,000.

Sentencing is set for October 9. Shalabi faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. Grissom commended the FBI; ICE-HSI; the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department; and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask for their work on the case.