WASHINGTON — Federal authorities said Thursday they have snagged $39.3 million worth of counterfeit sports merchandise in the past year, including $400,000 in the past week alone leading up to Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco on Sunday.
Sarah R. Saldaña, director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revealed the details at a press conference in San Francisco, noting that the yearlong effort, dubbed “Operation Team Player,” led to the seizure of nearly 450,000 counterfeit sports-related items.
“Intellectual property theft is a serious crime,” Saldaña said. “The increased enforcement actions conducted over the past year not only protected consumers, but led to information investigators can use to shut down major counterfeit distribution networks overseas and within our borders.”
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Operation Team Player, which also resulted in 41 criminal arrests and 35 convictions during the year, began at the conclusion of last year’s Super Bowl. The effort was developed by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations’ National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, which led coordinated efforts with major sports leagues to target contraband.
“The NFL’s ongoing partnership with ICE and the IPR Center has resulted in a significant crackdown on the illegal sale of counterfeit merchandise and tickets,” said National Football League counsel Dolores DiBella. “This collaboration protects all fans, including those participating in Super Bowl 50 festivities, who seek an authentic NFL experience.”
In the past week, HSI special agents joined forces with industry, Customs and Border Protection and local law enforcement in the San Francisco Bay Area to crack down on flea markets, retail outlets and street vendors selling bogus Super Bowl-related goods. They seized fake jerseys, hats, cell phone accessories and thousands of other bogus items valued at about $400,000, according to an IPR Center spokesman.
The spokesman said about 63 percent of all counterfeit goods seized are imported to the U.S. from China.
“Counterfeit products flood the supply chain with fake and potentially dangerous items while stealing from the rightful owners of trademarks,” said CBP commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske. “Working closely with our federal government partners and U.S. business, CBP identifies counterfeit products at the border before they enter the stream of commerce to protect U.S. businesses.”
David Hirschmann, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center, said, “Criminals selling counterfeit goods often use big events like the Super Bowl to trick consumers into buying high-priced, low-quality fakes. Not only do these criminal networks rip-off consumers, they have real consequences on the American economy.”