4 Deny Counterfeiting Charges
Four San Fernando Valley residents pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges they operated a Downtown counterfeiting operation where police last week seized more than 12,000 fake designer label sweat shirts, jerseys and jeans, said a district attorney spokesman.
Two private investigators working for Guess? Inc. had been monitoring Yun Jun Kang, the owner of the garment-making business, Deputy Dist. Atty. William D. Clark said.
Kang, of Glendale, was arrested Downtown at a plant where authorities said the counterfeit clothes were made. Police also seized two embroidery machines worth more than $100,000 each, as well as thousands of counterfeit labels, authorities said.
Hamid Moghaddam Adeli, of Encino, was arrested at Kang’s adjoining business where the counterfeit goods were stored, said investigators. Also arrested were Kang’s wife, Chang Suk Kang, and his brother, Yoon Yong Kang.
The group is accused of adding the labels and embroidered logos of Guess?, Girbaud, Nike and Tommy Hilfiger to generic clothing.
If convicted, each of the four faces a maximum of seven years in prison.
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