CA Man Arrested for Import & Resale of Counterfeit Software Could Face 60 Yrs

Immigration and Customs Enforcement reports that Collier Bennett Harper of Lakewood, CA, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court Monday morning following his arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents for importing more than 1,000 counterfeit Microsoft Office CD-ROMs and selling them over the Internet. Taken into custody late Friday, Collier is charged in a four-count federal indictment following the seizure of two shipments of Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2007 software CD-ROMs. Specifically, the indictment charges Harper with two counts of trafficking counterfeit goods and two counts of smuggling. If convicted of all charges, Harper faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison.

HSI's investigation revealed that, as part of the alleged scheme, Harper would contact reputable dealers on eBay and hire them to sell the counterfeit software. According to investigators, the defendant allegedly instructed the sellers how to list the software, describing the product as "new" and authentic. The sellers would provide Harper with the payment and the customers' addresses, and the defendant would ship the counterfeit software to the unsuspecting buyers. Based on evidence gathered during the probe, investigators believe nearly 1,000 counterfeit software packages were sold. Investigators estimate, based upon the manufacturer's suggested retail price, the seized software would have retailed for about $150,000 had it been genuine.