California Apparel News

Thousands of counterfeit blue jeans shipped to the Port of Los Angeles were seized on Aug. 17 by law enforcement officials working in conjunction with federal investigators.

Customs officials inspecting a 40-foot container that had arrived from China uncovered a scheme to pass off 21,024 pairs of fake True Religion jeans as the real deal, officials said. The jeans had a street value of $1.5 million and a $6.2 million value if sold at full price.

Investigators were stunned by the magnitude of the haul, which was confined to just one label. Oftentimes, counterfeiters combine several brands and fake labels into one container. “It is very rare that you see someone nowadays that has that much volume at one time and at one place with one label,” said Det. Richard Munguia of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The investigation began on Aug. 12, when a container arrived at the Los Angeles port. The following day, customs inspectors, doing a random check, opened up boxes inside the container and discovered thousands of blue jeans that had a Tuff Made in USA label over a fake True Religion label, federal officials said. True Religion buttons had been covered over with easily removed metal buttons.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement contacted the LAPD’s piracy unit about the shipment, which was still sitting on the docks.

Four days later, police officers set up a surveillance team to follow the container as it was being transported from the port to a warehouse at Washington Boulevard and Compton Avenue.

Once the container was delivered, police officers obtained a search warrant to inspect the premises and the container. “We found many boxes that contained [fake] True Religion blue jeans,” Munguia said.

Police officers immediately arrested Wook Keweon Hyo on one felony count of trademark infringement. Wook Hyo was in custody until Aug. 20, when he posted bail, officials said. The investigation continues to identify other parties that may be involved in the counterfeit plan.

Sandy Beattie, True Religion’s brand-protection manager, went to the warehouse and inspected the five styles of men’s jeans, which she estimated would sell for $300 to $319 at a high-end store. “It was a huge shipment,” Beattie recalled.

Beattie said True Religion has been working very closely over the years with the Los Angeles Police Department, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and various federal agencies to apprehend counterfeit material. But this is one of the largest hauls of fake True Religions in recent memory.

She said she was amazed at the detail in hiding the True Religion branding.

“I have seen where they cover up the inside label—but nothing with the outside label and the buttons,” she said.

Tracy Cormier, ICE assistant special agent in charge of investigations, said the jeans lacked the quality of True Religion’s product, but casual buyers of the brand probably wouldn’t know the difference. “If you hadn’t purchased True Religion before, they looked similar,” she said. “If you had purchased them before and knew the quality, you would know they were fake.”—Deborah Belgum