Authorities Charge 3 Swap Meet Vendors

Three vendors at the Valley Indoor Swap Meet in Woodland Hills--including two Valley residents--have been charged with dealing in counterfeit merchandise, the city attorney said.

A complaint filed last week in Los Angeles Municipal Court charges Shokat Merchant Ali, 56, of Reseda, with two counts of dealing in counterfeit goods, said City Atty. James Hahn. Geraldine Silverman, 58, of Huntington Beach, and Judith Carol Levi, 53, of Canoga Park, also are charged with two counts in connection with their swap meet booth.

Two Hawthorne residents who operated a booth on Venice Beach also were charged in the complaint, Hahn said.

The cases grew out of investigations conducted by National Trademark Investigations, which is retained by a number of major trademark holders and works in conjunction with the Los Angeles Police Department, Hahn said.

Deputy City Atty. Don Kass, head of Hahn’s consumer protection unit, said Ali, Silverman and Levi were arrested at their swap meet booths. The arrests followed undercover buys of merchandise including a $59.54 fake Chanel handbag from Ali and imitation Chanel earrings and sweatsuit for a total of $64.95 at Silverman and Levi’s booth, Kass said.

Police seized 52 items at Ali’s booth, mostly handbags and wallets bearing allegedly counterfeited Chanel and Louis Vuitton trademarks, Kass said. About 40 items were taken from Silverman and Levi, mostly earrings and purses with allegedly false Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Ralph Lauren trademarks.

All five defendants are scheduled for arraignment Dec. 19.