May 23, 2013
Fake, counterfeit, phony...whatever you call it, if you're selling it in Aiken, watch out.
Investigators say they seized counterfeit clothes at an Aiken store Tuesday, May 30...and they're out looking for more.
At Aiken's Urban Fashion, the shelves are bare. Empty hangers pile up, and display cases look lonely.
Tuesday, much of the store's merchandise was seized by investigators.
They say $15,000 of the store's stuff was fake.
They removed counterfeit products labeled Louis Vuitton, Coach, Izod, NBA and NFL.
"We may not be able to get the big suppliers, but we're certainly going to get the folks here that are trying to pass on this counterfeit merchandise," says David Turno of Aiken Public Safety.
These searches are headed up by private investigators that the real companies hire.
They head out with Aiken Public Safety officers in street clothes and look for fakes.
"The investigation continues today as our investigators are out once again checking more stores, checking more merchandise," Turno says.
The sign said open, but when we went to Urban Fashion to get their side of the story Wednesday, the door was locked. We looked inside and saw lots of empty shelves.
Aiken Public Safety hasn't arrested anyone yet.
They'll first investigate if Urban Fashion knew what they were selling.
If the owners at Urban Fashion are arrested and convicted of knowingly selling counterfeit goods, they'll face up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine.
