Buffalo Grove man charged with counterfeiting sports apparel
A Buffalo Grove man has been charged with two counts of felony counterfeiting after investigators seized about $250,000 worth of counterfeit sports apparel, Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart announced Wednesday.
Ki Hwan Ahn, 49, of the 400 block of Dogwood Terrace, has been charged with selling more than 2,000 counterfeit items and with manufacturing counterfeit items.
It was the second such arrest in recent months involving a north suburban man.
In December, Joseph Kim, 27, of the 100 block of Columbine Lane, Riverwoods, was charged with felony selling and manufacturing of counterfeit items after sheriff’s police raided a three-story building in Chicago and impounded sports clothing and machinery they valued at more than $1 million.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Police Special Operations Unit began investigating Ahn in March after receiving a report that suspicious activity was taking place at his storefront operation BB Box, located in an office complex on the 5500 block of West Touhy Avenue in Skokie, according to a news release.
Investigators conducted surveillance over several weeks, developing evidence to obtain a search warrant for the business on March 31.
Investigators discovered a counterfeiting operation, with unauthorized Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA and college sports labels printed on hats, T-shirts and long-sleeved shirts. The warehouse contained embroidery machines used to produce the counterfeit logos. Many items were in boxes, packaged for delivery. Workers were manufacturing Chicago Bears hats, the news release said.
Officers seized approximately 10,000 counterfeit apparel items, as well as computer software and hardware used to create and store digital files containing counterfeit logos. A half-dozen workers were present during the search, the news release said.
Ahn turned himself in April 1 and posted bond, which was set at $10,000 in a Skokie hearing April 2, officials said. His next court date is April 14.