This Sunday's Super Bowl is a money making opportunity par excellence, and a lot of people are trying to get their hands in that cash pie. Including, it turns out, counterfeiters. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have teamed up with the NFL to crack down on people selling unlicensed Super Bowl gear, and they've had quite a haul so far in San Francisco.
A press release from ICE notes that the government organization has seized an estimated $39 million worth of fake NFL goods, and CBS 5 informs us that $1.5 million of that came directly from San Francisco.
The year-long effort, dubbed "Operation Team Player" (because of course), has so far led to 41 criminal arrests and 35 convictions.
“Intellectual property theft is a serious crime,” explained ICE Director Sarah Saldaña. “The increased enforcement actions conducted over the past year not only protected consumers, but led to information investigators can use to shutdown major counterfeit distribution networks overseas and within our borders.”
Officials have recently targeted their efforts at flea markets and street vendors, and have confiscated hats, jerseys, and cell phone accessories (think cell phone cases) along with "thousands of other bogus items prepared to be sold to unsuspecting consumers."
“Criminals selling counterfeit goods often use big events like the Super Bowl to trick consumers into buying high-priced, low-quality fakes," president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center David Hirschmann explained in a statement. "Not only do these criminal networks rip-off consumers, they have real consequences on the American economy."
So, think twice next time you try to score a sweet (unlicensed) jersey off that sketchy street vendor — ICE may be watching.
