Pair Accused of Selling Bogus Designer Bags
When investigators from the Orange County district attorney’s office went shopping for handbags, they came up with what looked like the real thing: Kate Spade, Louis Vuitton, Tod’s, Gucci, Fendi and Prada.
But investigators say the bags were counterfeits made by a Westminster couple in their home and sold at a swap meet.
On Tuesday, the district attorney filed charges against Sarkis Wartan Kivork, 56, and his wife, Alice Kivork, 45. The charges include two felony counts of manufacturing a counterfeit mark. If convicted, each faces up to 11 years and 4 months in state prison.
Investigators said they bought fake purses from the couple’s business at a Costa Mesa swap meet in May and found more than 2,478 counterfeit items in the couple’s home. The items would have been worth $559,000 had they been real.
On Saturday, the investigators allege, they arrested the couple after buying more fakes. The couple were arraigned Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana. Bail was set at $1 million.
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