Thousands of dollars worth of fake championship rings were confiscated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The counterfeit rings bared the names of legends like Tom Brady, Kobe Bryant and Derek Jeter.
The $9,000 worth of sham Super Bowl, World Series and NBA championship rings were seized at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport in New York last Thursday.
The rings featured logos from the San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, New York Giants, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls and Syracuse University. There were also several mini championship trophies.
“Our officers continue to play a critical role in protecting the consumer from counterfeit items,” says Rochester Port Director Ronald Menz. “Counterfeiters scam consumers into buying low quality replicas online. Our officers diligently work to protect the American consumer by intercepting this illegitimate merchandise.”
Last month, CBP officers in Rochester seized fake Victor Wembanyama rookie cards.
“It’s very difficult when you’re purchasing something online because you don’t know exactly what it is you’re getting,” Jeff Toth, program manager at CBP, tells WHEC.com. “And the problem is, you don’t have it in front of you — you can’t touch it, hold it, look at it, inspect it and when you’re not able to do that, it makes it very difficult to know what it is you’re getting.”