‘Uncle Mi’ counterfeiter locked away for nearly four years
US authorities have sentenced a man to 46 months in prison for his part in a “massive” international counterfeit goods conspiracy.
Ming Zheng, known as ‘Uncle Mi’, had already pleaded guilty to the associated charge of conspiracy to launder money.
The New Yorker helped to run an operation in which hundreds of containers of fake goods, mainly handbags, perfume and footwear, were imported from China to the US between 2009 and 2012.
It was one of the largest counterfeit goods smuggling and distribution operations ever seized by the US Department of Justice.
The authorities said if the goods were legitimate their retail value would have been more than $300 million.
US attorney for the District of New Jersey, Paul Fisman, who announced Zheng’s sentence on June 2, praised the special agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI for their investigation that led to the conviction.
The news comes three months after US authorities revealed that in the 12 months to October 2013, US border officials carried out more than 24,000 seizures of counterfeit and pirated goods valued at more than $1 billion.
