Johnson County Man Sentenced for Smuggling Counterfeit Cisco Computer Equipment

KANSAS CITY, KS—A Johnson County man has been sentenced to 27 months in federal prison for selling $1 million worth of counterfeit Cisco computer equipment, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

Timothy Weatherly, 29, Overland Park, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and make false statements in order to smuggle goods into the United States.

In his plea, Weatherly admitted he operated a business called Deals Direct, Inc. from his home in Overland Park and a warehouse in Merriam, Kan. Beginning in 2005 and continuing through Nov. 14, 2006, the company imported computer equipment from China. The conspirators put counterfeit Cisco labels on the equipment and placed the counterfeit goods in Cisco boxes with counterfeit Cisco manuals. The counterfeit equipment was sold on Deal Direct’s website and on eBay as genuine Cisco equipment.

The conspirators obtained access to Cisco’s confidential serial number verification website in order to obtain legitimate serial numbers. Working with a manufacturer in Hong Kong, the conspirators used multiple shippers and other methods to attempt to keep shipments from being seized by customs officials. When investigators served a search warrant Nov. 8, 2006, in Merriam, Kan., they found hundreds of counterfeit Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, and documentation as well as thousands of counterfeit Cisco goods.

Co-defendant Christopher Meyers was sentenced earlier this year to 33 months in federal prison.

Grissom commended Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Rask for their work on the case. This case was prosecuted in cooperation with the Justice Department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property (IP Task Force). For more information, see www.justice.gov/dag/iptaskforce.