CEO Charged for Selling Fake Cisco Networking Equipment
Cybercrime
,
Fraud Administration & Cybercrime
,
Laws & Litigation
19 Businesses, 15 Amazon Storefronts and 10 eBay Storefronts Involved
A federal grand jury indicted a 38-calendar year-previous Florida man for allegedly selling much more than $1 billion truly worth of counterfeit Cisco community equipment to consumers throughout the world, like hospitals, schools, authorities companies and the army.*
See Also: OnDemand | Zero Tolerance: Managing The Landscape In which You can Meet Your Adversaries

Onur Aksoy, aka Ron Aksoy, aka Dave Durden, allegedly orchestrated a large and fraudulent operation to website traffic in counterfeit merchandise from at the very least as early as August 2013 by to 2022, according to the U.S. Office of Justice.

Through this period of time, Aksoy, utilizing China and Hong Kong-centered suppliers, imported counterfeit, very low-quality computer networking equipment manufactured to surface as if they have been made by Cisco.

The reduced-quality computer system networking products are created to seem as “new and legitimate gadgets produced by Cisco and to resell individuals units in the United States and about the earth, falsely representing those gadgets to purchasers as new and genuine Cisco solutions,” according to his indictment doc.

Aksoy is billed with just one rely of conspiracy to targeted visitors in counterfeit merchandise and to commit mail and wire fraud, a few counts of mail fraud, four counts of wire fraud, and a few counts of trafficking in counterfeit items.

The indictment says that Aksoy was billed by a criminal criticism filed in New Jersey on June 29 and was arrested in Miami the very same day.

A spokesperson for Cisco was not instantly available to comment on this improvement.

Procedure Aspects

Aksoy allegedly ran at the very least 19 corporations fashioned in New Jersey and Florida as perfectly as at the very least 15 Amazon storefronts, at the very least 10 eBay storefronts and multiple other entities collectively identified as the “Pro Community Entities.”

Professional Community Entities imported 1000’s of fraudulent and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment from China and Hong Kong, modified by the Chinese counterfeiters to seem to be legitimate versions of new, increased and additional costly Cisco devices. It then “resold them to customers in the United States and overseas, falsely symbolizing the products and solutions as new and genuine. The procedure allegedly created above $100 million in earnings, and Aksoy gained millions of bucks for his individual attain,” the Justice Division claims.

“The Chinese counterfeiters generally added pirated Cisco software program and unauthorized, reduced-high-quality, or unreliable factors – including factors to circumvent technological measures added by Cisco to the program to check out for computer software license compliance and to authenticate the components,” according to the indictment.

The fraudsters also designed confident that these goods appeared to be new, legitimate, substantial-top quality and manufacturing unit-sealed by implementing counterfeited Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, documentation, packaging and other components.

Goods Failed

The U.S Justice Department suggests that the fraudulent and counterfeit merchandise offered by the Professional Community Entities suffered from several effectiveness, performance and basic safety challenges.

“Often, they would only are unsuccessful or normally malfunction, triggering important problems to their users’ networks and operations – in some conditions, costing consumers tens of countless numbers of bucks. Customers of Aksoy’s fraudulent and counterfeit devices bundled hospitals, educational facilities, authorities organizations, and the military,” the Justice Section says.

In accordance to the indictment, involving 2014 and 2022, Customs and Border Protection authorities seized roughly 180 shipments of counterfeit Cisco gadgets currently being shipped to the Professional Community Entities from China and Hong Kong.

The indictment alleges that Aksoy submitted formal paperwork to the authorities less than the identify of “Dave Durden,” an identification that he utilized to connect with Chinese co-conspirators.

“To try out to prevent CBP scrutiny, Chinese co-conspirators allegedly broke the shipments up into lesser parcels and transported them on distinctive days, and Aksoy made use of at minimum two pretend delivery addresses in Ohio. Right after CBP seized a shipment of counterfeit Cisco solutions to Aksoy and the Professional Community Entities and despatched a seizure notice, Aksoy allegedly usually ongoing to get counterfeit Cisco merchandise from the exact supplier,” the DOJ alleges.

The indictment also alleges that among 2014 and 2019, Cisco despatched 7 letters to Aksoy inquiring him “to stop and desist his trafficking of counterfeit items.”

“Aksoy allegedly responded to at the very least two of these letters by producing his attorney to supply Cisco with cast paperwork. In July 2021, brokers executed a search warrant at Aksoy’s warehouse and seized 1,156 counterfeit Cisco products with a retail price of about $7 million,” the DOJ states.

*Correction, July 10, 2022 00:04 UTC: Tends to make crystal clear that Aksoy has been indicted by a grand jury.
