More than $1.5 million worth of counterfeit designer items seized from Bellingham home
A Bellingham man is suspected of running a criminal enterprise out of his Meridian neighborhood home, selling counterfeit designer label retail goods online. Bellingham Police and Homeland Security investigators reportedly seized more than six van loads of suspected counterfeit watches, purses, jewelry and other merchandise worth in excess of an estimated $1.5 million in 2019.
Yaoyu Zhang, 37, was booked and released from Whatcom County Jail on June 3 after Whatcom County Superior Court documents show he was charged May 10 with nine counts of counterfeiting and one count of attempted first-degree theft.
In 2018, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized two packages — the first contained 23 counterfeit watches and was addressed to a shipping and receiving center on Bakerview Road where Zhang had an account, and the second contained 25 counterfeit watches and was addressed to Zhang’s home on Deemer Road, court documents state.
Homeland Security was able to confirm 63 more similar shipments of suspected counterfeit goods shipped to Zhang’s home, documents state.
On May 14, 2019, Bellingham Police and Homeland Security investigators spoke to Zhang at his home and were invited inside, according to documents.
Inside investigators saw numerous watches in itemized bins, packing materials, designer bags, a laminating machine and what appeared to be a shipping label on a computer screen, documents state.
Zhang reportedly told the investigators that he had been selling the watches and pursues for a few months, selling approximately 10 per day for between $249 and $500, apiece, according to documents. Zhang denied that his goods were counterfeit, but admitted he had received notice from Homeland Security about prior goods he had sold being counterfeit.
Investigators obtained a warrant to search the house, documents state, and found large quantities of items that appeared to be counterfeit and boxes that were labeled and ready for shipping. Many of the boxes reportedly were marked with designer labels, such as Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Armani.
The property and paperwork seized at the Deemer Road house filled six vans and included 1,551 watches, 35 pieces of jewelry, 398 scarves, 12 handkerchiefs, 26 wallets, 50 purses, 15 sunglasses, and 27 blankets or shawls, documents state.
The suspected counterfeit goods were seized and investigators identified 26 different labels of rights holders, documents state. Investigators contacted all 26 companies for confirmation that the goods were counterfeit.
As of the date court documents were filed, 10 companies had responded to investigators, all confirming the items were counterfeit with approximate total values of more than $1 million — Armani $86,403, Rolex $12,500, Marc Jacobs $32,370, Tissot $251,349, Burberry $422,134, Hermes $116,480, Chanel $54,190, Louis Vuitton $59,950 and Gucci $14,610.
Based on the manufacturers’ suggested retail prices of the items seized, investigators estimated the total value of the seizure to be $1,566,228.68, documents state.
The investigation showed Zhang started a number of businesses and sold items on Amazon and Ebay, documents state, and between March 1, 2018, and Aug. 15, 2019, Zhang and his associates were found to have sold more than 2,800 items on Amazon and received disbursement of funds for more than $494,000. Paypal also reportedly disbursed $237,765 to Zhang’s accounts for items sold on Ebay during that period.
Items listed on the online marketplaces were described as “authentic” and “brand new in the box,” documents state, though a number of consumer complaints were filed.
During the search of Zhang’s home, investigators also seized false invoices, warranty cards and a label maker, according to documents. The 20 invoices seized reportedly ranged in value from approximately $3,000 to more than $33,000 for a total value $287,045.
Zhang also was found to have an “unusually” high number of bank accounts, according to documents, with 50 accounts found across 34 banks, some of which were reportedly found to have hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars moving through them.
