US: CEO of 19 companies accused of selling fake Cisco devices worth $1 billion

A US court has charged a man that ran 19 companies and at least 15 Amazon storefronts, 10 eBay storefronts and multiple other entities that sold fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking devices worth $1 billion.

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A federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey charged Onur Aksoy, aka Ron Aksoy, aka Dave Durden, 38, of Miami with running a massive operation over many years to traffic in fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment with an estimated retail value of over $1 billion.

He imported tens of thousands of fake Cisco devices from China and Hong Kong and resold them to customers in the US and overseas, falsely representing the products as new and genuine, the US Department of Justice said in a statement late on Friday.

The operation allegedly generated over $100 million in revenue, and Aksoy received millions of dollars for his personal gain.

According to the indictment, the devices were typically older, lower-model products, some of which had been sold or discarded, which Chinese counterfeiters then modified to appear to be genuine versions of new, enhanced, and more expensive Cisco devices.

The Chinese counterfeiters added pirated Cisco software and unauthorised, low-quality, or unreliable components, including components to circumvent technological measures added by Cisco to the software to check for software license compliance and to authenticate the hardware.

Finally, to make the devices appear new, genuine, high-quality, and factory-sealed by Cisco, the Chinese counterfeiters allegedly added counterfeited Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, packaging, and other materials, the Justice Department said.

Aksoy is charged with one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and to commit mail and wire fraud; three counts of mail fraud; four counts of wire fraud; and three counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods.