On the “Compare to” side, sellers offering these products were primarily located in five southeastern states. The individual admitted to printing the labels himself at a local pack & ship store. At that point, the individual was charged with possession with intent to sell counterfeit goods (NC GS 80-11.1). In meeting the individual at an agreed upon location with law enforcement (undercover), we completed a purchase of the counterfeit product and witnessed the seller sticking the counterfeit labels on the product. In these instances, we coordinated with the client to have the listings submitted for removal from the marketplaces.Īs an example of a seller that developed into a more substantial target – Vaudra arranged to meet with the individual to execute a buy/bust operation with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce. When engaging these sellers in undercover dialog, they would talk a big game – but in requesting specifics and/or arranging to meet for a purchase, it would be a bait-and-switch with non-labeled product. As was demonstrated during the investigation, marketplace sellers were regularly borrowing photos of the counterfeit products from others, so the same images popped up repeatedly. On the counterfeit side, potential leads came in all shapes and sizes. Over 100 individuals, entities or other related parties were investigated as part of these two initiatives – one focused on the counterfeit labels and another on the “Compare to” variant. Smith, who is on probation for a 2016 charge of dealing in stolen property, was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence, probation violation, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and multiple drug charges.An organized investigative approach was critical as the network of sellers continued to grow. The teen's arrest history includes charges of grand theft of a firearm, grand theft of a motor vehicle, driving without a license and probation violation, plus multiple drug charges.ĭeputies arrested the teen and charged him with multiple drug-related charges, plus probation violation - he's been on probation since Aug. 8, 2019, for unlawful possession of a firearm by a minor, according to the news release. We’re grateful to the community for sending in the tips when they saw something and being patient while we worked the case.” "The mother is contributing to him being a criminal and both of them need to get their acts together and learn to be productive legal members of society. “I hope the courts hold them both accountable, since they are already both on probation and obviously haven’t learned anything," Sheriff Rick Staly said in the news release. The teen said that the drugs were his and that he'd been selling them, and both he and his mother, 41-year-old Melissa Smith, admitted that Smith had hidden a bag of drugs when deputies arrived, according to the news release.ĭeputies seized $4,080 in drug sales for forfeiture, according to the news release. They found approximately 324 grams of cannabis, plus oxycodone pills, drug paraphernalia and a $100 counterfeit bill, according to an FCSO arrest report. The deputies from the Special Investigations Unit and Problem Area Crime Enforcement Unit first conducted a juvenile probation check on the 16-year-old, then told the teen and all occupants of the house to wait outside and conducted a search, according to a Flagler County Sheriff's Office arrest report. After receiving tips about drug activity at a house on Seven Wonders Trail in Palm Coast, deputies executed a search warrant there April 30 and arrested a 16-year-old boy and his mother.
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