U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery | U.S. Department of Justice
Vanessa Roberts Avery, the United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Klevis Nako, a 24-year-old resident of Worcester, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 60 days in prison followed by 18 months of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver handed down the sentence in Hartford for Nako's involvement in a conspiracy to sell counterfeit luxury and designer watches imported from China.
Court documents reveal that between November 2020 and April 2024, Nako conspired with others to distribute counterfeit luxury watches throughout the United States. These watches were either imported illegally from China or obtained from an accomplice in New York. Nako advertised and sold these counterfeit items via internet platforms and social media accounts he managed on Facebook and Instagram. Law enforcement officers conducted undercover operations during which they purchased fake Rolex watches from one of Nako’s Instagram accounts for prices ranging between $100 and $300 each.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) seized approximately 16 parcels containing 138 counterfeit Rolex watches and five counterfeit Audemars watches addressed to Nako’s residence between February and July 2021. In addition, between April and June 2022, CBP intercepted three parcels containing 11 counterfeit Rolex watches and one counterfeit Movado watch addressed to an office rented by Nako in Holden, Massachusetts. The total estimated retail price of these counterfeit goods was around $3 million if they had been genuine.
Judge Oliver also ordered Nako to forfeit $271,585 as proceeds from his criminal activities.
Nako was arrested on April 3, 2024. During a court-authorized search of his residence on that date, authorities discovered more than 60 counterfeit luxury watches along with fake watch boxes and shopping bags. On August 21, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods.
At the time of his arrest, Nako was employed as a police officer with the Framingham State University Police Department in Framingham, Massachusetts.
Released on a $50,000 bond, Nako is scheduled to report to prison on February 13.
The investigation is being carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Shan Patel are prosecuting the case.
