Man to Be Sentenced in Counterfeit Hair-Care Products Scheme
A Newport Beach man is scheduled to be sentenced today to 16 months in prison after admitting a scheme to sell up to $1 million of counterfeit John Paul Mitchell hair products, authorities said.
The company has a plant in Saugus.
Joseph Frederick Thompson, 33, was charged in 1997 with selling 10 tractor-trailer loads of fake Mitchell-brand shampoo and conditioner to a New York distributor, but fled the country before he could be prosecuted.
“Let’s just say he took an extended vacation in Latin America,” said Joseph Gibbons, Thompson’s attorney.
Thompson turned himself in to prosecutors March 29 at Los Angeles International Airport. A day later, he pleaded no contest to a counterfeiting charge.
“He realized this was not going away,” Gibbons said. “He’s decided to accept responsibility.”
As part of his plea bargain, Thompson also will be expected to pay John Paul Mitchell Systems about $41,500 to cover the expense of storing and destroying the counterfeit products and to offset investigative costs.
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