Fashion District Jewelry-Store Owners Plead Guilty to Counterfeit Charges
The owners of a jewelry store located across from the California Market Center pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a federal investigation into selling lead-tainted counterfeit jewelry.
James Ken Oh and his wife, Jacqueline Oh, owners of the Elegance Fashion Mart at 124 E. Olympic Blvd., pleaded guilty on June 21 to one count of conspiracy and one count of introducing and delivering a hazardous substance, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office. The store manager, Joon Yeop Kim, also pleaded guilty to the same charges. The three will be sentenced in U.S. District Court on Oct. 18, the government said.
The charges stem from an investigation launched in 2007 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators following a tip the store was allegedly selling counterfeit designer merchandise that imitated creations by Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Christian Dior, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels. After seizing 25,000 counterfeit pieces of jewelry, the goods were tested, and some were found to have 20 times the amount of lead considered safe by the Consumer Product Safety Commission for handling by children, government officials said.—Deborah Belgum
