A counterfeiter trafficking in Chinese built tools was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for alleged participating in a conspiracy to sell U.S. consumers more than $3 million worth of bogus General Motors (GM) and Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) automotive diagnostic tools, electronic keys and fobs.
Katiran Lee, 39, an Indonesian national allegedly is the counterfeiter, selling the goods while living in Duluth, Georgia. Lee was charged with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods, four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
According to the indictment, from August 2008 through December 2011, Lee conspired with manufacturers in the People’s Republic of China to sell automotive diagnostic devices bearing counterfeit GM and BMW trademarks to consumers in the United States. The tools are used by technicians to identify problems with electronic control systems. Counterfeiter Lee advertised and sold the diagnostic devices on eBay and through his own website, and had the PRC manufacturers send counterfeit devices bearing unauthorized GM and BMW marks directly to his customers.
Lee also advertised and sold more than 35,000 counterfeit keys and key fobs for vehicles produced by GM, BMW and numerous other automotive manufacturers, including Chrysler, Honda, Toyota, Audi, Mercedes Benz, Ford, Infiniti, Land Rover, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki, and Volkswagen. Lee programmed the keys himself and affixed counterfeit marks to deceive consumers into believing that the products came from the respective automotive manufacturers, according to the Department of Justice.
In the indictment, the government is seeking forfeiture of computers, programming equipment and thousands of blank keys and trademarked automotive emblems recovered during a search of Lee’s home in February of 2012, and the forfeiture of properties totaling up to $600,000 made by the counterfeiter.
