Counterfeit

Vendors at the Patapsco Flea Market have a history of allegedly selling counterfeit and pirated merchandise, according to an affidavit, which outlined the latest accusation that resulted in a raid Sunday by federal Homeland Security Investigations special agents. Capping a 2 1/2-year-long investigation into counterfeit apparel and accessories as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, federal investigators confiscated numerous items being sold there. Federal authorities released few details about the raid, but the affidavit details several undercover operations that found that many of the items sold at the flea market were fake.

Undercover federal agents rented a booth at Patapsco Flea Market to gain access to its management as part of a 2 1/2 -year sting targeting merchants selling counterfeit and pirated goods - an investigation that resulted in a raid Sunday on the Southwest Baltimore marketplace, according to a search warrant and affidavit released Monday. Capping the intensive investigation into fake brand-name clothes and accessories, as well as pirated DVDs and musical recordings, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations confiscated numerous items being sold at the sprawling market.

I feel so much safer now that the NFL investigators are on the job on the streets of Baltimore together with our Immigration Department, working tirelessly to keep those illegal Ravens t-shirts from our borders ("Ravens and NFL call blitz on online sellers of fakes," Jan. 12). I suggest more cameras and increased guards at the stadium to catch these illegals; I spotted a grandmother with a little girl in possible illegal shirts, who do I call to turn them in? George Pfeiffer, Bel Air

As the Ravens drove toward the playoffs, Barbra Skarzynski wanted to buy her son a team jersey as a Christmas gift. She searched Google for Lardarius Webb gear, quickly found a site that billed itself as an official store of the Ravens, and bought a jersey for $70. Weeks later, the Baltimore woman received the jersey in a box with Chinese characters on it, from Shanghai. She discovered that parts of it were blue instead of Ravens purple. And worst of all, the cornerback's name on the back of the jersey - which was not licensed by the National Football League - was spelled "EWBB.

A federal judge sentenced a Baltimore man to more than three years in prison for selling and using counterfeit bills. Robert Johnson, 33, was sentenced to 41 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Wednesday. Johnson pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit currency at a price of about 50 cents for each fake dollar. He knew that the buyers would be using the fake money as if it were genuine, the statement said.

Officers raided multiple businesses Wednesday in Ocean City that are suspected of trafficking counterfeit goods, a federal official said. The Homeland Security Investigations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was the lead agency handling the execution of search and seizure warrants for "counterfeit goods or services," said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for ICE, in a statement. This case is not related to immigration issues, he said. No one was arrested during the searches for fake designer goods and at least some of the businesses searched were near the boardwalk, said Special Agent Rich Wolf, a spokesman for the FBI's Baltimore field office.

A 47-year-old man was sentenced Monday to 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after he was found guilty of selling counterfeit luxury apparel and accessories. Marvin Johnson of Baltimore owned a store called "Prestigious Fashions" in the 500 block of Pennsylvania Ave. and two sales booths, "Marvin's Prestigious" at the North Point Flea Market in Baltimore County and Hunter's Sales Barn in Cecil County. Federal prosecutor said Johnson sold clothing and accessories bearing trademarks identical to those used by Coach, Louis Vuitton, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Polo and Nike.

A Randallstown counterfeiter, whose co-conspirator was killed in a shootout with Baltimore County police last year, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison Wednesday for making phony $100 bills in a Pikesville hotel room, the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Darryl S. Bacon, 32, and his partners bleached $5 bills and reprinted them as $100 notes, then spent or sold them, prosecutors said. Bacon pleaded guilty to dealing in counterfeit cash in February, according to court records.

A Baltimore County man has been arrested and charged with impersonating a police officer after a joint investigation by city and county police departments. County police a raid Thursday morning at the home of Darrell E. Lyles, 24, of Ferns Way in Nottingham, and found a slew of police-related equipment, including badges, ID cards, bulletproof vests and lights t hat he had installed in a refurbished police vehicle. Also among the items seized was a laptop computer that was installed on the center console of the vehicle, similar to police cruisers.

Ocean City's boardwalk is known for small shops hawking salt water taffy and souvenirs to vacation-goers. But a major luxury brand has accused more than a dozen shops of doing brisk trade in an illegal market: counterfeit handbags and accessories. Over two days in June, an investigator with Coach Inc. entered 13 stores overlooking the beach and bought counterfeit bags, wallets and other items for prices ranging from $20 to $75, according to lawsuits filed by Coach in federal court in Baltimore this week.