Background: On October 20th, 2009, a Vice Unit detective received a complaint that an individual was selling counterfeit National Football League (NFL) jerseys on Craigslist. It was believed that the same individual was also selling counterfeit jerseys around the stadiums. The detective contacted the respective NFL representative who offered to provide assistance with the investigation and their expertise in confirming whether or not these jerseys were authentic or counterfeit. One detective posed as a buyer and purchased a jersey. It was later confirmed as counterfeit by the NFL representative.
On December 2nd, 2009, the suspect selling the jersey was arrested. This individual cooperated with detectives and provided information that another man was the actual source for the counterfeit jerseys. Detectives then began an investigation of that suspect. That investigation included the purchase of undercover buys of the jerseys by detectives, surveillance of the suspect, and warrants to establish the suspect’s ownership of a website dedicated to selling the counterfeit jerseys.
On February 2nd, 2010, detectives and officers arrested the suspect in North Seattle. A search warrant was then served on the suspect’s residence. Over 900 counterfeit jerseys were seized at a value of approximately $90,000. A number of these jerseys were New Orleans Saints counterfeits, presumably trying to capitalize on their appearance in next week’s Super Bowl. The suspect will be charged with Counterfeiting pending further investigation.