13,500 Counterfeit Golf Clubs, Parts Seized

As part of a nationwide investigation called Project Teed Off, federal authorities announced Wednesday three arrests and the seizure of more than 13,500 counterfeit golf clubs and components in Temple City and Arcadia.

The counterfeit items--worth about $690,000 on the black market--included some bearing the names of the golf industry’s top brands, such as Callaway, Taylor Made, King Cobra and Titleist.

Acting on tips from the legitimate manufacturers, U.S. Customs Service officials seized the equipment Monday at a golf business in Arcadia and a home in Temple City. Most of the clubs, shafts, grips and club heads were still in their shipping boxes.

The business and residence belonged to Stephen Cheng, 39, who was arrested Wednesday in Orlando, Fla., while attending a golf equipment show sponsored by the Professional Golfers Assn.

Also arrested were Dan Gutierez, 30, and his wife, Lily Liwan Lin, 38, both of Huntington Beach. All are being held on charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $2-million fine per count.

“Counterfeiting has always been a longtime problem. But lately it seems to have gone from bad to worse,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Marc Gwaltney, who supervises customs investigations in the Los Angeles area.

Gwaltney announced the seizure during a news conference at a Customs Service warehouse in Rancho Dominguez. On display were nine wooden pallets stacked waist high with boxes of golf equipment made in China and Taiwan.

The items ranged from hard-to-distinguish copies of Callaway and Taylor Made equipment to obvious knockoffs of poor quality. King Cobra-style club heads were labeled King Viper or King Snake--something that might fool the unsophisticated buyer.

Another table contained almost exact copies of Callaway’s Big Bertha club head along with lower quality knockoffs called Canterbury’s Big Bursar.

Customs officials and representatives of club manufacturers advised consumers to pay close attention to the price and quality of the equipment they are interested in buying.

Problems can be avoided, they said, by consulting golf pros at local courses and buying equipment from factory-authorized retail outlets. Golfers were warned to be particularly wary if the price is $70 or $80 for a club that normally sells for hundreds of dollars.

Although some counterfeit equipment ends up in retail stores, customs officials said most of it is sold through the Internet or by underground suppliers working out of their homes.

“It can be difficult for the average consumer to tell the difference sometimes,” said Timothy L. Epp, general counsel for Taylor Made Golf in Carlsbad. “If the price is too good to be true, it probably is not the real club.”

Customs officials estimate that about $4 billion in counterfeit golf equipment is sold every year in the United States, dwarfing the annual market of $2 billion for legitimate golf clubs and accessories.

Officials caution that the size of the illegal market is a guess based on conversations undercover investigators have had with counterfeiters.

Much of the equipment that ends up in the United States comes from manufacturers in Taiwan, China and Vietnam.

Last year, the Customs Service confiscated about $75 million in counterfeit golf clubs and accessories. Since 1996, Project Teed Off has resulted in 84 seizures of counterfeit equipment in the Los Angeles area and more than 300 seizures across the nation. At least 12 people have been arrested.

In a similar crackdown to protect brand names, customs officials and sheriff’s deputies also said Wednesday that they have confiscated four truckloads of counterfeit sunglasses. Five people have been arrested in connection with the seizure.

“The case is believed to be one of the largest seizures of counterfeit sunglasses in the Los Angeles area,” said Deputy Michael Irving, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman.

The joint six-month investigation involved the Sheriff’s Department, Customs Service and the Oakley, Ray Ban and Nike companies, Irving said.

Authorities seized about 200,000 pairs of counterfeit sunglasses that were in various stages of assembly.