Laguna man guilty in counterfeit case

A Laguna Beach man has been sentenced to six months in federal prison and fined $150,000 for trafficking in counterfeit Cisco computer products, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

John Gavin, 43, was sentenced Nov. 19 by U.S. District Judge A. Howard Matz. He was ordered to surrender Jan. 12 to begin serving his sentence.

Gavin owns Shoreline Networks, a San Juan Capistrano-based business that deals in computer and networking equipment.

Gavin was charged with trafficking the counterfeit computer products Feb. 4, and pleaded guilty March 17, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Erik M. Silber, who prosecuted the case.

Gavin was accused of dealing in $150,000 worth of counterfeit equipment, Silber said.

At the sentencing, Matz stated that Gavin continued to sell counterfeit products after having his products seized by customs officials and after responding to a cease and desist letter by Cisco regarding his sale of counterfeit Cisco products.

The counterfeit Cisco products included computer networking equipment.

This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.

Gavin’s defense attorney, Jim Riddet, did not respond by press time to a call from the Coastline Pilot for comment.