Milford store unknowingly sold $200K in counterfeit sneakers
MILFORD — A downtown shoe store is offering refunds after it unknowingly sold hundreds of pairs of counterfeit shoes and other items last year, authorities said.
Management at Family Sneaker House, 161 Main St., has cooperated with a Milford police investigation and is trying to make things right, police Lt. Kevin O’Loughlin told the Daily News.
“He (store owner) was trying to do the right thing and purchased the wrong things,” O’Loughlin said. “It sounds like he fell in with the wrong people and ordered things that he didn’t know weren’t real. His store is now open, and he’s stocked with real items. He’s going to have a business now that will have legitimate products.”
Police began an investigation last year after receiving tips from several people who purchased shoes at the store.
“They purchased some shoes and they thought the items were counterfeit,” O’Loughlin said. “They were correct.”
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Police began an investigation, working with several shoe companies. They also worked with Powers & Associates, a Cape Cod consulting firm, to inspect the products. O’Loughlin said the store owner cooperated with the investigation and surrendered the items.
If counterfeit items were real, police say their worth was more than $200K
More than 1,200 items the store had for sale were determined to be counterfeit. They included 895 pairs of Nike Jordan sneakers; 89 pairs of Yeezy sneakers; nine pairs of Puma; 48 pairs of Adidas; as well as Nike and Adidas brand backpacks and several other clothing items. O’Loughin said the value of the items, if authentic, would have been more than $200,000.
O’Loughlin said the owner, whom police did not name, was ordering products from a Chinese distributor, paying via wire transfer. He said counterfeit sneakers are a big business.
“It’s one of the biggest (counterfeit) items in the world, Nike sneakers,” he said.
Police Chief Robert Tusino said this type of incident hurts residents.
“While this was not a traditional crime indicative of our community, it’s important to realize that these types of operations aren’t just taking billions from these big corporations, but more importantly, money out of the wallets of hardworking people,” Tusino said in a press release.
In letter, shoe companies praise Milford police for cracking case
In a letter to the Milford Police Department on behalf of Nike, Louis Vuitton North America, Gucci America Inc. and Adidas International, the companies praised the work of O’Loughlin and Detectives Elias Giokas and Thomas Leung.
O’Loughlin said the companies took possession of all counterfeit goods and destroyed them. All declined to press charges, he added.
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A woman who answered the phone Wednesday afternoon at Family Sneaker House said the owner was not in. Police did not identify the owner because he is not facing charges.
The business is now selling legitimate products and is looking to make things right, O’Loughlin said.
Anyone who purchased items at Family Sneaker House is asked to bring a receipt to the Milford Police Department, 250 Main St., to get a refund.
“He’s out the money he paid for the products, but he’s trying to do it right now,” O’Loughlin said.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or [email protected]. For up-to-date police news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.
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