SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR IMPORTING COUNTERFEIT EXERCISE EQUIPMENT

LOS ANGELES – A resident of downtown Los Angeles was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for trafficking in counterfeit goods, specifically thousands of bogus, Chinese-made Ab Circle Pro machines and related items that were illegally brought into the United States.

Sok Hun Jin, who also uses the name “Eric Jin,” 37, received the 2½-year sentenced this morning from United States District Judge Percy Anderson. In addition to the prison term, Judge Anderson ordered Jin to pay a $6,000 fine and to pay $60,000 restitution to the manufacturer of legitimate Ab Circle Pro machines. 

When he pleaded guilty earlier this year, Jin admitted that he was responsible for illegally bringing more than 2,300 bogus Ab Circle Pro machines – as well as DVDs, manuals and stickers for the product – into the United States. The counterfeit equipment, worth approximately $250,000, was made in the People’s Republic of China and came to the United States in four separate containers last year. Jin also arranged for separate packages with fake instructional DVDs, manuals, and stickers to be shipped from China into the United States. 

In sentencing Jin today, Judge Anderson noted that the criminal conduct occurred over an extended period of time and that the prison term should “offer a measure of deterrence to others.”

The case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Last year, in a separate case, a Chino woman was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for importing counterfeit exercise equipment – including counterfeit Ab Circle Pro machines – and bribing a government official (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/pressroom/pr2010/155.html).