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Press Release

Operator Of Local Frison Flea Market Convicted Of Federal Fraud Charges

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri

St. Louis, MO - JACK FRISON, SR. was convicted of multiple charges relating to his involvement in the sale of counterfeit goods and DVD?s.

According to testimony presented at trial, for more than two decades, Frison owned and operated the Frison Flea Market, in Pagedale, Missouri.  Vendors paid Frison a rental fee to rent and operate sales booths at his Flea Market.  For more than ten years, many of Frison’s vendors openly sold counterfeit goods from their booths at the Market.  The counterfeit goods included clothing, footwear, purses, accessories, movie DVDs and music CDs.  Some of the vendors sold counterfeit purses and similar luxury items bearing marks owned by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana and others. Frison knew that the goods were counterfeit and allowed vendors to continue selling such goods.  Rather than removing vendors selling illegal goods, Frison fined them instead, adding to his income.

Frison, Frontenac, Missouri, was convicted of one felony count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, one felony count of aiding and abetting copyright infringement and one felony count of aiding and abetting trafficking counterfeit goods.  The two-day trial was held in June before United States District Judge Rodney Sippel.  He returned his ruling today and set sentencing for January 2015.

The conspiracy and copyright infringement charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fines up to $250,000 and trafficking in counterfeit goods carries a maximum of 10 years in prison and/or fines up to $2,000,000.  In determining the actual sentences, a Judge is required to consider the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide recommended sentencing ranges.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys John Bodenausen and Jennifer Roy are handling the case for the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Updated March 19, 2015