More than $570K Worth Of Counterfeit Items Seized, 4 Men Charged

GLEN ELLYN, IL — Four men from Naples, Italy face felony charges in DuPage County after prosecutors say they ran a counterfeit electronics ring and were found in possession of more than 750 counterfeit items worth a total of more than $570,000. Police surveilling the men reported several incidents in and around Glen Ellyn and Elmhurst.

Vincenzo Demartino, 49, Salvatore Derosa, 50, Luca Demartino, 25, and Simone Signorelli, 23, all from Naples, Italy, were charged with possession of counterfeit items valued at more than $500,000 with an intent to sell.

Prosecutors were called to the 400 block of North Oak Street in Elmhurst just before 11:30 a.m. after someone reported there was a suspicious white Kia SUV in the area. According to prosecutors, Signorelli was driving the SUV, drove up to a resident's driveway and tried to sell the resident a cellphone, but the resident refused.

Police then began watching the SUV and reported that it drove to a home in the 2N300 block of Diane Avenue in Glen Ellyn. There, prosecutors say Signorelli got out and went into the home, where he and the other three men were staying.

Prosecutors say Vincenzo Demartino left the Diane Avenue house in a Jeep Compass on the morning of May 8 and headed to Roselle. Demartino is accused of trying to sell AirPods to a landscaper who did not purchase the AirPods.

An officer stopped the Jeep around 9:30 a.m. near the intersection of Main and Roselle in Elmhurst. According to a news release from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office, the officer searched the SUV with permission and found "numerous counterfeit items including five Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, nineteen Apple AirPod Pros, three Apple battery packs, one Apple iPad, two Apple AirPod Maxs, three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Cell Phones and one Dyson hair dryer."

Police then arrested Demartino.

Around 9:40 a.m., Signorelli is accused of leaving the Diane Avenue house and heading to Hanover Park, where he went into another house before coming back to the house on Diane.

Officers later pulled Signorelli over in Glendale Heights in connection with the May 7 incident. Signorelli was arrested after police say they "numerous counterfeit items including two Apple AirPod Maxs, five Apple iPhones, one Apple iPad, sixteen Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple Watches and two Samsung Galaxy S25s."

Around 10:40 a.m., prosecutors say Derosa came out of the Diane Avenue home with "several bags," which he put into a Hyundai Tucson. Officers approached Derosa and reported that the bags contained "more than $45,000 in cash and numerous counterfeit items including twenty-one Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, one Apple AirPod Max, one Apple iPad and three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultras," a news release said.

Luca Demartino later got into a Nissan Rogue and drove from the Diane Avenue home, per prosecutors. Police say they later stopped Demartino and searched his car with permission. Demartino is accused of having over $90,000 cash in the car and was arrested.

Prosecutors say police found "767 counterfeit items in the Diane Avenue residence with an approximate value of $519,433."

All the counterfeit items seized had a value of around $573,237, the news release said.

“Counterfeiting is a serious offense which can have devastating effects on our local economy and leaves us all to bear the cost,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berlin added, “Shoppers end up paying for inferior products, employers and businesses lose sales which can translate to lost wages and lost jobs which in turn can result in reduced economic investment in our communities. I would urge everyone, if you are going to be making any major purchases, particularly electronics, which can be small, but pricey items, please do so from a reputable merchant and not from someone who approaches you on the street."