United States of America v. Paw Moo

Omaha, Nebraska criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods.



Paw Moo, age 29, of Omaha, Nebraska, was charged for trafficking in counterfeit goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2320(a)(1).



In February 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Anchorage, Alaska, seized a shipment of counterfeit designer purses destined for Moo's residence in Omaha, Nebraska. On March 23, 2021, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), using an undercover officer, executed a controlled delivery of the seized package to Moo's residence in Omaha. Moo accepted the package and HSI agents executed a search of her residence where numerous items with counterfeit marks were located. The items were handbags, clothes, blankets, phone cases, belts and a wallet from brands to include Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Gucci, Yves St. Laurent, Michael Kors, Coach and Nike. The total manufacturers' suggested retail price of the seized merchandise exceeded $118,000.



Moo stated she began to sell items online from her residence in the beginning of March 2020 and began selling counterfeit items in the Fall of 2020, a timeframe that was consistent with her importation history.



This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations.



Title 18 U.S.C. 2320(a)(1) provides:



Trafficking in counterfeit goods or serv -

ices

(a) OFFENSES.—Whoever intentionally—

(1) traffics in goods or services and knowingly uses a counterfeit mark on or in connection with such goods or services,

(2) traffics in labels, patches, stickers, wrappers, badges, emblems, medallions, charms,

boxes, containers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation, or packaging of any type or nature, knowing that a counterfeit mark has

been applied thereto, the use of which is likely

to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive, or

(3) traffics in goods or services knowing that

such good or service is a counterfeit military

good or service the use, malfunction, or failure

of which is likely to cause serious bodily in -

jury or death, the disclosure of classified in -

formation, impairment of combat operations,

or other significant harm to a combat oper -

ation, a member of the Armed Forces, or to

national security,

or attempts or conspires to violate any of para -

graphs (1) through (3) shall be punished as pro -

vided in subsection (b).

(b) PENALTIES.—

(1) I N GENERAL.—Whoever commits an of -

fense under subsection (a)—

(A) if an individual, shall be fined not

more than $2,000,000 or imprisoned not more

than 10 years, or both, and, if a person other

than an individual, shall be fined not more

than $5,000,000; and

(B) for a second or subsequent offense

under subsection (a), if an individual, shall

be fined not more than $5,000,000 or impris -

oned not more than 20 years, or both, and if

other than an individual, shall be fined not

more than $15,000,000.

(2) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY OR DEATH.—

(A) S ERIOUS BODILY INJURY.—Whoever

knowingly or recklessly causes or attempts

to cause serious bodily injury from conduct

in violation of subsection (a), if an individ -

ual, shall be fined not more than $5,000,000 or

imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or

both, and if other than an individual, shall

be fined not more than $15,000,000.

(B) D EATH.—Whoever knowingly or reck -

lessly causes or attempts to cause death

from conduct in violation of subsection (a),

if an individual, shall be fined not more than

$5,000,000 or imprisoned for any term of years

or for life, or both, and if other than an indi -

vidual, shall be fined not more than

$15,000,000.

(3) C OUNTERFEIT MILITARY GOODS OR SERV-

ICES.—Whoever commits an offense under sub -

section (a) involving a counterfeit military

good or service—

(A) if an individual, shall be fined not

more than $5,000,000, imprisoned not more

than 20 years, or both, and if other than an

individual, be fined not more than

$15,000,000; and

(B) for a second or subsequent offense, if

an individual, shall be fined not more than

$15,000,000, imprisoned not more than 30

years, or both, and if other than an individ -

ual, shall be fined not more than $30,000,000.

(c) F ORFEITURE AND DESTRUCTION OF PROP-

ERTY; R ESTITUTION.—Forfeiture, destruction,

and restitution relating to this section shall be

subject to section 2323, to the extent provided in

that section, in addition to any other similar

remedies provided by law.

(d) D EFENSES.—All defenses, affirmative de -

fenses, and limitations on remedies that would

be applicable in an action under the Lanham

Act shall be applicable in a prosecution under

this section. In a prosecution under this section,

the defendant shall have the burden of proof, by

a preponderance of the evidence, of any such af -

firmative defense.

(e) P RESENTENCE REPORT.—(1) During prepara -

tion of the presentence report pursuant to Rule

32(c) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure,

victims of the offense shall be permitted to sub -

mit, and the probation officer shall receive, a

victim impact statement that identifies the vic -

tim of the offense and the extent and scope of

the injury and loss suffered by the victim, in -

cluding the estimated economic impact of the

offense on that victim.

(2) Persons permitted to submit victim impact

statements shall include—

(A) producers and sellers of legitimate goods

or services affected by conduct involved in the

offense;

(B) holders of intellectual property rights in

such goods or services; and

(C) the legal representatives of such produc -

ers, sellers, and holders.

(f) D EFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec -

tion—

(1) the term ''counterfeit mark'' means—

(A) a spurious mark—

(i) that is used in connection with traf -

ficking in any goods, services, labels,

patches, stickers, wrappers, badges, em -

blems, medallions, charms, boxes, contain -

ers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation,

or packaging of any type or nature;

(ii) that is identical with, or substan -

tially indistinguishable from, a mark reg -

istered on the principal register in the

United States Patent and Trademark Of -

fice and in use, whether or not the defend -

ant knew such mark was so registered;

(iii) that is applied to or used in connec -

tion with the goods or services for which

the mark is registered with the United

States Patent and Trademark Office, or is

applied to or consists of a label, patch,

sticker, wrapper, badge, emblem, medal -

lion, charm, box, container, can, case,

hangtag, documentation, or packaging of

any type or nature that is designed, mar -

keted, or otherwise intended to be used on

or in connection with the goods or services

Page 527 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 2320

for which the mark is registered in the

United States Patent and Trademark Of -

fice; and

(iv) the use of which is likely to cause

confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive;

or

(B) a spurious designation that is identical

with, or substantially indistinguishable

from, a designation as to which the remedies

of the Lanham Act are made available by

reason of section 220506 of title 36;

but such term does not include any mark or

designation used in connection with goods or

services, or a mark or designation applied to

labels, patches, stickers, wrappers, badges,

emblems, medallions, charms, boxes, contain -

ers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation, or

packaging of any type or nature used in con -

nection with such goods or services, of which

the manufacturer or producer was, at the time

of the manufacture or production in question,

authorized to use the mark or designation for

the type of goods or services so manufactured

or produced, by the holder of the right to use

such mark or designation;

(2) the term ''financial gain'' includes the re-

ceipt, or expected receipt, of anything of

value;

(3) the term ''Lanham Act'' means the Act

entitled ''An Act to provide for the registra -

tion and protection of trademarks used in

commerce, to carry out the provisions of cer -

tain international conventions, and for other

purposes'', approved July 5, 1946 (15 U.S.C. 1051

et seq.);

(4) the term ''counterfeit military good or

service'' means a good or service that uses a

counterfeit mark on or in connection with

such good or service and that—

(A) is falsely identified or labeled as meet -

ing military specifications, or

(B) is intended for use in a military or na -

tional security application; and

(5) the term ''traffic'' means to transport,

transfer, or otherwise dispose of, to another,

for purposes of commercial advantage or pri -

vate financial gain, or to make, import, ex -

port, obtain control of, or possess, with intent

to so transport, transfer, or otherwise dispose

of.

(g) L IMITATION ON CAUSE OF ACTION.—Nothing

in this section shall entitle the United States to

bring a criminal cause of action under this sec -

tion for the repackaging of genuine goods or

services not intended to deceive or confuse.

(h) R EPORT TO CONGRESS.—(1) Beginning with

the first year after the date of enactment of this

subsection, the Attorney General shall include

in the report of the Attorney General to Con -

gress on the business of the Department of Jus -

tice prepared pursuant to section 522 of title 28,

an accounting, on a district by district basis, of

the following with respect to all actions taken

by the Department of Justice that involve traf -

ficking in counterfeit labels for phonorecords,

copies of computer programs or computer pro -

gram documentation or packaging, copies of mo-

tion pictures or other audiovisual works (as de -

fined in section 2318 of this title), criminal in -

fringement of copyrights (as defined in section

2319 of this title), unauthorized fixation of and

trafficking in sound recordings and music videos

of live musical performances (as defined in sec -

tion 2319A of this title), or trafficking in goods

or services bearing counterfeit marks (as defined

in section 2320 of this title):

(A) The number of open investigations.

(B) The number of cases referred by the

United States Customs Service.

(C) The number of cases referred by other

agencies or sources.

(D) The number and outcome, including set -

tlements, sentences, recoveries, and penalties,

of all prosecutions brought under sections

2318, 2319, 2319A, and 2320 of title 18.

(2)(A) The report under paragraph (1), with re -

spect to criminal infringement of copyright,

shall include the following:

(i) The number of infringement cases in

these categories: audiovisual (videos and

films); audio (sound recordings); literary

works (books and musical compositions); com -

puter programs; video games; and, others.

(ii) The number of online infringement

cases.

(iii) The number and dollar amounts of fines

assessed in specific categories of dollar

amounts. These categories shall be: no fines

ordered; fines under $500; fines from $500 to

$1,000; fines from $1,000 to $5,000; fines from

$5,000 to $10,000; and fines over $10,000.

(iv) The total amount of restitution ordered

in all copyright infringement cases.

(B) In this paragraph, the term ''online in -

fringement cases'' as used in paragraph (2)

means those cases where the infringer—

(i) advertised or publicized the infringing

work on the Internet; or

(ii) made the infringing work available on

the Internet for download, reproduction, per -

formance, or distribution by other persons.

(C) The information required under subpara -

graph (A) shall be submitted in the report re -

quired in fiscal year 2005 and thereafter.

(i) T RANSSHIPMENT AND EXPORTATION.—No

goods or services, the trafficking in of which is

prohibited by this section, shall be transshipped

through or exported from the United States.

Any such transshipment or exportation shall be

deemed a violation of section 42 of an Act to

provide for the registration of trademarks used

in commerce, to carry out the provisions of cer -

tain international conventions, and for other

purposes, approved July 5, 1946 (commonly re -

ferred to as the ''Trademark Act of 1946'' or the

''Lanham Act'').

Defendant pleaded guilty to count I of the Indictment and is hereby sentenced to Probation for a term of 3 years, with special conditions; Special Assessment $100.00