"Cisco Counterfeiter Pleads Guilty to $100m Scheme"

A Florida man has recently pleaded guilty to making over $100m from importing and selling counterfeit Cisco networking devices.  Onur Aksoy, 39, of Miami, pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to traffic in counterfeit goods, to commit mail fraud, and to commit wire fraud and mail fraud.  The Department of Justice (DoJ) stated that he is facing anywhere between four and six-and-a-half years behind bars and must forfeit $15m in illicit gains made from the scheme.  The DoJ noted that Aksoy is a dual US/Turkish citizen and ran at least 19 companies in New Jersey and Florida, alongside 15 Amazon storefronts and at least ten eBay storefronts.  He imported tens of thousands of knock-off Cisco networking devices from China and Hong Kong, complete with fake labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, and packaging designed to make them appear to be genuine products.  The DoJ noted that these devices were older products, often previously sold or discarded, which Chinese forgers modified to make them appear newer, more expensive devices.  Often, pirated Cisco software and unreliable and unauthorized components were also added, including components designed to circumvent Cisco anti-piracy checks.  According to the DoJ, many of these products suffered from performance issues and, in some cases malfunctioned, causing damage to customers’ networks and operations.  Some recipients of the counterfeit Cisco networking devices included hospitals, schools, government agencies, and the military.

Infosecurity reports: "Cisco Counterfeiter Pleads Guilty to $100m Scheme"