Springfield, Nixa men indicted for trafficking counterfeit goods
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Springfield, Mo., man and a Nixa, Mo., man have been indicted by a federal grand jury for trafficking in counterfeit goods after federal agents seized hundreds of pairs of counterfeit Nike shoes and other counterfeit apparel from them.
Brent Darrell Luna, 25, of Nixa, and Lukas Antonio Rivas, 21, of Springfield, were charged in a six-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo., on Wednesday, July 28, 2010.
The federal indictment alleges that, from Oct. 27, 2007, and Jan. 14, 2009, Luna and Rivas trafficked in counterfeit Nike athletic shoes and counterfeit National Football League jerseys.
Luna is charged with one count of trafficking in counterfeit Nike athletic shoes and one count of trafficking in counterfeit NFL football jerseys. Luna is also charged with smuggling $48,464 worth of Nike athletic shoes into the United States.
Rivas is charged with two counts of trafficking in counterfeit Nike athletic shoes.
Luna and Rivas are also charged with one count of aiding and abetting each other to traffic in counterfeit Nike athletic shoes.
The federal indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation, which would require Luna and Rivas to forfeit to the government all of the counterfeit goods that were seized by law enforcement officers, including more than 600 pairs of Nike athletic shoes, 45 NFL and National Basketball League jerseys, 67 Major League Baseball caps, dozens of jeans, shirts, belts, shoes, hoodies and other clothing items with designer labels, as well as $3,448.
Phillips cautioned that the charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randall D. Eggert. It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.
