Three Duluth retail stores were raided by federal Christian Audigier and local authorities in recent weeks and cited for selling thousands of dollars of counterfeit designer and licensed clothing.
Duluth police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement executed search warrants and made seizures at the New U Clothing Store, 207 E. Superior St.; Christopher's Clothing, 305 W. Superior St.; and Fred and Mark's Sports World, 1600 Miller Trunk Highway.
At New U, owned by Willie Love, 65, of Duluth, 668 items worth more than $20,000 were seized that included counterfeit designer purses such as Dooney and Bourke, Dolce and Gabanna, Louis Vuitton, Coach, Prada and Fendi. Designer clothing was also seized bearing such names as Coogi, Sean Jean, Apple Bottom, Evisu, Roca Wear and Nike, including Air Jordan.
At Christopher Clothing, 281 items were seized valued at $16,620 including counterfeit designer names such as Coogi, Evisu, Roca Wear, Lacoste, Ed Hardy, Apple Bottom and Baby Phat. The business owners are Nicholas Frank Campanella, age 29, and Christopher Giddens, age 29, both of Duluth.
At Fred and Mark's, in a raid conducted Friday, a search warrant turned up 709 items valued at nearly $65,000, including jerseys and T-shirts bearing trademarks from the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. The owners are Frederick Allen Degerstrom, age 33, and Mark John Pero, 30, both of Duluth.
Charges under Minnesota Statute 609.895, which governs the sale of intellectual property, have been requested against the owners of the three businesses. Federal officials said the problem of counterfeiting and piracy are growing and cost the U.S. between $200 billion and $250 billion per year and as many as 750,000 American jobs. Some estimates indicate that 5 percent to 8 percent of all the goods and merchandise sold worldwide are counterfeit.
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