Local Woman Sentenced for Selling Counterfeit Handbags
| U.S. Attorney’s Office September 20, 2012 |
ST. LOUIS, MO—Jeannine Buford was sentenced to 57 months in prison for selling counterfeit Hermés handbags over the Internet. She was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $255,500.
Between January 2006 and October 2011, Buford operated an Internet-based business out of her home. Buford purchased the counterfeit purses from a manufacturer in China and sold the Hermés handbags over the Internet to buyers who believed that they were purchasing authentic Hermés handbags. The Internet sites she used to sell the handbags were: www.deluxemall.com, www.hauteexclusives.com, and www.houseofhermes.blogspot.com.
In September 2011, the FBI conducted an undercover operation in which Buford sold a counterfeit Hermés handbag to one of their agents.
Investigators have estimated that Buford netted over a half of a million dollars in sales just from March of 2010 through April of 2011.
Jeannine Buford pled guilty in June to one felony count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. She appeared today for sentencing before United States District Judge Audrey Fleissig. As part of her earlier plea, she forfeited a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, 2012 Porsche Cayenne, $5,738 cash, and 16 miscellaneous designer handbags.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.