CEO of 19 firms indicted for selling counterfeit Cisco devices
Onur Aksoy imported fake and out-of-date products and sold them as new.
A Florida man has been detained on charges that he imported $1 billion worth of fake Cisco networking equipment from China and sold it online.
The US Justice Department charged Onur Aksoy, 38, with selling fake Cisco equipment to consumers both domestically and abroad while misrepresenting the items as brand-new and authentic.
Aksoy was also known as Ron Aksoy and Dave Durden.
The indictment claims that he was the owner of several businesses, including at least 15 storefronts on Amazon, 10 on eBay, and 19 companies established in New Jersey and Florida.
Through these businesses, collectively known as the 'Pro Network Entities', Aksoy imported tens of thousands of fake Cisco networking devices from China and Hong Kong. He then sold them to customers in the US and abroad.
Chinese counterfeiters altered the older and lower-model equipment to make them resemble brand-new, enhanced, and more expensive Cisco gear.
They often added unlicensed, subpar and unreliable components, including some to get around technical safeguards Cisco applied to the software to verify authenticity and check for licencing compliance.
Additionally, the providers supplied the devices in packaging that seemed to be authentic, with Cisco labels, stickers and documentation.
Customers who bought equipment from Aksoy were often looking for a bargain on items typically costing thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. However, the counterfeit products came with performance, usability, and safety issues.
The systems would simply stop working altogether or disrupt computer networks and operations, costing users thousands to fix.
Hospitals, schools, government organisations and the military were among Aksoy's customers.
From 2014 through 2019, Cisco issued Aksoy seven cease-and-desist letters. On some occasions, he had his attorney provide fake invoices.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confiscated over 180 shipments of fake Cisco equipment intended for the 'Pro Network' between 2014 and 2022. Aksoy reportedly recovered some of those seizures by submitting forged documents under a false name.
In order to evade detection, his Chinese accomplices started breaking up their shipments in smaller packages.
US authorities searched Aksoy's warehouse in July 2021, seizing 1,156 fake Cisco products with a retail value of nearly $7 million.
Aksoy is charged with three counts of mail fraud; four counts of wire fraud; one count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and to commit mail and wire fraud; and three counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods.
A criminal complaint was filed in New Jersey against Aksoy on the 29th June this year, and he was arrested in Miami the same day.
Prosecutors in New Jersey have posted a webpage with details about Aksoy's businesses and storefronts for people who suspect they may have been one of his clients.