NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - Feds and other officers handcuffed the owner of a South Florida store after they said he sold several counterfeit sports jerseys.
The business owner was busted at his store, Greene Dream Shoe Care, located at 742 NW 62nd Street, Tuesday.
The arrest came after the owner was caught selling NFL knock-offs leading up to Super Bowl 54.
“What did I do wrong? I did not know the shirts were not legal.” said Tyrone Greene, the owner. “It ain’t nothing that I intentionally done wrong.”
Greene was taken to jail following an investigation that began a few days ago.
“Over the weekend, we identified several counterfeit jerseys there,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Timothy Sauer.
Investigators and undercover agents with Homeland Security Investigations and Miami-Dade Police gathered for a briefing, Tuesday afternoon.
“This should be easy,” said Sauer. “Hopefully, quick and fast.”
An hour later, they were in the store where they said they found exactly what they were looking for.
“When you turn it inside out, you’ll never see this on an authentic jersey,” said Sauer. “This [is a] paper kind of material.”
Items that looked like the real deal, weren’t.
“The counterfeiters are seeking one thing: profit, profit and more profit,” said Homeland Security Investigations Supervisory Special Agent James Weir
This practice allows store owners to sell what customers think are high end items at a lower than usual cost, giving them a big profit.
“Buyer beware. We all work hard for our money,” said Weir. “You want to buy authentic products that you deserve for your money. Anything you buy that seems too good to be true, it’s probably not true.”
Authenticity investigators with the NFL were also on hand to sort through the inventory.
In the end, boxes were hauled off as evidence, and the shop’s owner was taken away in cuffs.
Local, state and federal authorities warned that they mean business.
“We are out there enforcing the law, and you will go to jail,” said Weir.
Greene said he had no idea some of the jerseys in his store were fake. Investigators, however, said he has been arrested for the same offense before.
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