U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced that Wasseem Ramjaun, a 48-year-old from Vaughan, Ontario, has been sentenced to two years in prison for trafficking counterfeit goods. The sentence was handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny, who also ordered Ramjaun to pay $4,800,870 in restitution.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, who prosecuted the case, explained that Ramjaun ran several importing and exporting businesses in Canada. Between October 2016 and August 1, 2017, he agreed to supply an individual with authentic merchandise from brands like Yeti, Vera Bradley, and Lacoste without having authorization to use their trademarks.
In January 2017, Ramjaun contacted a manufacturer in China to produce bags resembling genuine Vera Bradley products. He provided photographs and tags of authentic items to ensure the counterfeits appeared real.
Ramjaun imported these counterfeit bags into the United States through a port of entry in the Western District of New York between June 1 and June 8, 2017. To hide their fraudulent nature from Customs and Border Protection officials, he submitted a fake manufacturing agreement.
The investigation leading to this sentencing was conducted by United States Homeland Security Investigations under Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan's supervision.
