Home Los Angeles Press Releases 2010 Chinese Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Shipping Counterfeit Cisco Parts to the U.S.
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Chinese Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Federal Prison for Shipping Counterfeit Cisco Parts to the U.S.

FBI Los Angeles February 05, 2010
  • Public Affairs Specialist Laura Eimiller (310) 996-3343

A man who caused hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit computer hardware to be exported to buyers in the United States was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in federal prison, announced George S. Cardona, Acting United States Attorney for the Central District of California and Steven M. Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI in Los Angeles.

Yongcai Li, 33, a Chinese national, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $790,683.85 in restitution to Cisco Systems at his sentencing hearing held Monday, January 25 in Los Angeles. Li , a resient of China, carried out the scheme while doing business as Gaoyi Tech, a company located in Shenzhen, China. Li procured counterfeit Cisco products in China in response to orders made by uncharged co-conspirators, and then shipped the products to the United States. Li accepted payment for the products in the form of wire transfers to his bank account in China.

Li was arrested by FBI agents on January 9, 2009 while visiting Las Vegas and was removed to Los Angeles for prosecution.

Li was indicted by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles in January 2009 with one count of conspiracy and nine counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods. The indictment alleged that Li conspired with others in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties to traffic in goods bearing the counterfeit Cisco trademarks from approximately May 2005, continuing through October 2006. The marks were indistinguishable from genuine Cisco trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Li pleaded guilty to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods in September 2009.

The investigation of Li was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Los Angeles, with the assistance of the FBI in Las Vegas. The Cyber and Intellectual Property Crimes Section of the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles prosecuted Li.