June 20--Federal agents seized more than 4,350 counterfeit sweaters, caps and other souvenirs as part of a crackdown during the Stanley Cup Final and Thursday's victory celebration, authorities said Friday.
The law enforcement initiative, codenamed Operation Team Player, largely targeted illegal vendors selling near the United Center and Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Over 90 percent of the fake merchandise was seized in Chicago, according to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations branch handled the effort.
Authorities estimated the retail value of all the seized merchandise -- 4,376 items -- at $181,215.
Among the fakes were Patrick Sharp sweaters, and T-shirts with the team's logo wearing a Chicago flag bandanna.
Authorities said large sporting events such as the Stanley Cup Final draw counterfeiters from across the country.
"During every major sporting event in this country, criminal groups capitalize on the enthusiasm of fans by selling them counterfeit team merchandise," James Gibbons, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Chicago, said in a statement. "Intellectual property theft is a very real crime with very real victims."
As part of the joint investigation with federal authorities, Cook County sheriff's police arrested Jeff Huang, 61, of Mount Prospect, on five counts of unauthorized use of a trademark after finding more than 130,000 counterfeited glass pieces with team logos from the NHL, NBA, NFL and Major League Baseball at his business, according to ICE. Several thousand of the glass inserts, to be used in lampshades, had fake Blackhawks logos.
Huang allegedly copied team logos and sent them to China, where they were affixed to the glass inserts. The NHL tipped off federal investigators that Huang's Max International Trading Corp. in Elk Grove Village was selling unauthorized merchandise, authorities said.
He was released on electronic monitoring and is due back in court next month.
sschmadeke@tribpub.com
