Boutique Owner Arrested After Selling Over $40M Worth of Fake Designer Goods

According to reports, a boutique owner in Long Island, NY was arrested after allegedly selling over $40 million in counterfeit designer items.

Lindsay Castelli, 31, of Smithtown sold fake Gucci, Chanel, Prada, Dior, Ugg, and Louis Vuitton to unsuspecting patrons of her boutique. Authorities from Nassau County recovered 22 printing presses at the store that were used to create “thousands of synthetic heat-sealed counterfeit labels,” which Castelli would then add to cheap clothes to be marked up for sale. 

“A simple $10 sweatshirt, you put the Chanel brand on it, it sells for $5,300,” said Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder. “They would take a hat, a $3 hat, a 50-cent item on the side. They would heat seal it onto the hat and sell the hat for $300,’’ Ryder added. 

“This was not a mom-and-pop operation. This was a sophisticated operation operating two fashion merchandise companies, Christian Salvatore New York and Linny’s Boutique,’’ said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly. 

Castelli was charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting and could face up to three years in prison. 

Source: Nypost.com