The largest counterfeit goods seizure in American history, with a retail value of more than a $1 billion, resulted in police arresting two people Wednesday, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York press release.
Prosecutors charged Adama Sow, 38, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48, Wednesday morning with allegedly trafficking counterfeit goods on a mass-scale out of a Manhattan storage facility from January through October of 2023, according to the press release. The seizure took place at the aforementioned New York City location, where prosecutors said 219,000 different fake items were seized — amounting to a combined retail appraisal of $1.03 billion, taking the cake for the largest recorded counterfeit goods seizure ever to take place on American soil.
Adama Sow, 38, of Queens, and Abdulai Jalloh, 48, of New York, New York, are each charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods. If convicted, they could face up to 10 years in jail. FOR SELLING COUNTERFEIT SNEAKERS, HANDBAGS, etc…
— Sneaker & Streetwear Legal Services℠ (@SneakerLegal) November 16, 2023
A judge set Sow and Jalloh’s bonds at $1 million and $500,000 respectively, court records read, CNN reported. (RELATED: Famous Designer Davide Renne Dies Nine Days After Starting Lead Role At Moschino, Company Says)
OK – now a rare counterfeit goods trafficking case here in SDNY Mag Court- US is asking for $1 million bond for Ms Adama Sow, citing multiple storage units full of counterfeit goods “worth 100s of millions of dollars,” and recent 3 week trip to Guinea. Story later pic.twitter.com/fYxX7qQgXC
— Inner City Press (@innercitypress) November 15, 2023
Sow and Jalloh are accused of operating the inner-city storage facility and peddling the faux fashion items from there as well as several other separate locations, per the press release. (RELATED: ‘Storage Wars’ Star Gunter Nezhoda Dead At 67)
“This is a testament to the commitment of this Office and its law enforcement partners to combat counterfeit trafficking in New York City,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said, according to the press release.
A counterfeit trafficking charge carries a maximum sentence of a decade in federal prison, the attorney’s office noted.