Monthly Archives: November 2020

Over $9 million worth of counterfeit designer goods seized in Texas.

November 21, 2020 By in IPR, Notice of Seizure Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
CBP officers examining 1 of the 148 boxes, source: CBP.gov

Dallas CBP officers at the Dallas/Fort Worth port of entry seized a shipment of counterfeit designer merchandise for China and destined for an address in McKinney, Texas.

CBP claims in their media release their “experience” led them to a perform an examination on the shipment contained in 148 boxes.

CBP’s “experience” is more “common sense” – if your shipment is from China and mentions clothing, watches, shoes, phones, electronics – Customs will take a second look and assume everything with a brand is counterfeit.

Within the 148 boxes, Customs officials found goods bearing trademarks from Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Yeezy among others. Customs look at the quality of the item and the poor packaging to determine the likelihood a good is counterfeit.

Besides visual confirmation a good is likely counterfeit, Customs may also send images or samples of the goods to the trademark holders to verify authenticity – and 10 out of 10 times the trademark holder will say the goods are counterfeit.

If you have had your goods detained or seized, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone/text at 832-896-288 or by email to: attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

$1.3 million of counterfeit currency seized in Chicago.

November 20, 2020 By in Customs Lawyer, HSI, USSS Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

Image of seized currency, source: CBP.gov

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in the Chicago International Mail Facility seized a shipment from the Ukraine containing more than $1.3 million in funny money. The exporters from the Ukraine labeled the shipment of 13,957 $100 bills as “prop money”.

While many importers believe the words or marking of currency as “prop money” means they can be imported – CBP considers any counterfeit of US currency a violation of the federal law prohibiting the reproduction of currency. CBP then turned over the money to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) for investigation.

In general, if CBP turns a case over to HSI and/or the USSS, then the importer is likely subject to criminal penalties instead of the usual civil penalties.

If you have had your currency seized by Customs, contact seizure attorney David Hsu by phone at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com.

CBP finds Asian Gypsy Moths (AGM) in Portland.

November 4, 2020 By in AGM, Asian gypsy moth, invasive species Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment
AGM egg mass, source: CBP.gov

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists in Portland, Oregon found three Asian gypsy moth egg masses in mid-October. The egg masses typically contain hundreds of eggs that will hatch. The issue is AGM are an invasive species that are highly mobile – being capable of flying up to 25 miles and eat the leaves of more than 500 different species of trees.

The AGM egg masses were found on a foreign flag merchant vessel coming from an area known to be a high risk for AGM. CBP will typically remove the egg mass and then the entire vessel was treated with a pesticide. After fumigation, CBP will then re-inspect the vessel and approve whether or not to process the cargo.

If you have had your shipment detained by Customs for AGM or other pests found in wood packaging materials contact David Hsu immediately. Time is of the essence in WPM/pest cases as CBP will ask the importer or shipper to re-export immediately. Contact David Hsu by phone/text immediately at 832-896-6288 or by email at attorney.dave@yahoo.com, dh@gjatradelaw.com.