Cook County nets counterfeit clothes ring, arresting 9 with $150K in fake merchandise
Police arrested nine men who were operating a counterfeit apparel sales ring out of stores in Chicago and suburban areas, Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart announced Saturday.
The sheriff’s department reported that two of the men were charged with felonies and seven others have been charged with misdemeanors.
Here’s the full list of those arrest, the addresses and charges as supplied by the authorities:
- Ali Shaheen, 27, of the 10600 block of South Parkside Avenue in Chicago Ridge, three felony counts of counterfeiting – $30,000 bond
- Said Aljuba, 30, of the 7000 block of West 100thStreet in Chicago Ridge, two felony counts of counterfeiting – $20,000 bond
- Samer Assad, 37, of the 4000 block of West Barry Avenue in Chicago, three misdemeanor counts of counterfeiting
- Hazem Nasir, 48, of the 16000 block of Laurel Drive in Orland Park, two misdemeanor counts of counterfeiting
- Iman Shahin, 26, of the 10600 block of South Parkside Avenue in Chicago Ridge, one misdemeanor count of counterfeiting
- Muhamad Nakhlek, 19, of the 9200 block of South 50thAvenue in Oak Lawn, two misdemeanor counts of counterfeiting
- Amer Alomari, 34, of the 5600 block of West Eastwood Avenue in Chicago, one misdemeanor count of counterfeiting
- Jalal Zayed, 36, of the 10500 block of Major Avenue in Chicago Ridge, one misdemeanor count of counterfeiting
- Mohammed Zaben, 33, of the 4300 block of West Belmont Avenue in Chicago, two misdemeanor counts of counterfeiting
This Special Ops Unit of the sheriff’s office has been working this investigation since March based on a tip from a citizen. Surveillance and undercover purchases quickly identified the nine men were engaged in illegal counterfeiting sales.
Most of the apparel items sold in their stores bore the counterfeit trademarks of Nike, Timberland and Major League Baseball.
More than 4,000 items (shoes, jackets, hats and shirts) were seized and reported to be worth $150,000.