| |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 14, 2001 |
CONTACT: Kay Maxwell
(803)734-1605
(803)518-0918 |
Miles Continues
Counterfeiting Crackdown
upstate investigation leads to more arrests
(COLUMBIA)- Secretary of State
Jim Miles announced today that investigators from his office
working in cooperation with agents from US Customs and the
Spartanburg and Cherokee County Sheriff’s Offices seized a
large amount of counterfeit clothing, watches and sunglasses
in several raids that occurred on Wednesday and Thursday.
“We do not yet have a final total on the amount of
merchandise that we recovered,” said Secretary of State Jim
Miles. “We will release that information as soon as it
becomes available. I want criminals to know that we are
serious about enforcing these laws and that we are going to
put them in jail,” Miles said.
Federal investigators have uncovered evidence that the
profits derived from the sale of counterfeit merchandise
were used to fund the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center
and other terrorist activities.
Since January of this year, Secretary of State Jim Miles’
Office has participated in 7 different counterfeit
investigations that have led to the arrest of 26 people and
the seizure of more than $3.6 million dollars in
merchandise.
The Secretary of State’s Office is responsible for the
registration of all trademarks and servicemarks. For more
information, contact Secretary of State Jim Miles at (803)
309-5019.
# # #
|
