Feb 14th, 03
$534,470.00 Worth of Counterfeit Imaging Supplies Products Confiscated
LEXINGTON, KY. The Imaging Supplies Coalition for International Intellectual Property Protection (ISC) announced that the Peel Regional Police Intelligence Bureau in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, culminated an investigation into the international sale of counterfeit Epson ink cartridges and Hewlett-Packard ink and LaserJet cartridges with the arrest of two defendants and the seizure of 13,195 counterfeit ink cartridges and 437 counterfeit LaserJet cartridges with a street value of $534,470.00.
Investigators, with the assistance of Epson Security, made a series of undercover purchases from Multi-tech Limited, located at 1300 Steeles Avenue East, Bramton.
According to Detective Rod Jones, the investigator and arresting officer at the Intelligence Bureau, “The purchases were analyzed and confirmed to be counterfeit cartridges, including false security holograms and lot numbers. These cartridges were sold in quantity to middle level imaging suppliers, as well as extensive international sales, utilizing the Internet”
The total number of victims is still under investigation, but is estimated to be in the hundreds.
Charges with Fraud Over $5,000. and Passing Off (Criminal Trademark) is, Yassar Sattar, 22, of Brampton and Dalwir Singh Rai, 28, also of Brampton. They are scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Brampton, on March 10, 2003.
For further information please contact the ISC at (859) 278-3032 or via e-mail at
ISCDuffy@aol.com. Or visit our website at www.isc-inc.org
The Imaging Supplies Coalition for International Intellectual Property Protection, Inc. is a non-profit association of imaging supplies Original Equipment Manufacturers. Coalition members are Brother International Corp., Canon U.S.A., Inc, Epson America Inc., Katun Corporation, Lexmark International, Inc., Oki Data Corporation, Sharp Electronics Corporation, Toshiba America Business Solutions, and Xerox Corporation.