$300K In Fake Designer Bags Seized From Long Island Store: PD

Approximately $300,000 worth of counterfeit handbags were seized from inside a shoe repair store in New Hyde Park on Tuesday, Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas said.

According to the DA, the store owner Edik Yakubov, 56, of Queens, would buy fake Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors handbags for $25 to $30 from a supplier and would then sell them to customers for $45.

“Knockoff products can pose health and safety threats, damage reputable brands, and those who sell them frequently cheat the public by evading taxes,” Singas said in a press release.

An investigation into Yakubov selling counterfeit items out of his store, Ral’s Shoe Repair, began in April 2018, police say.

About $300,000 worth of counterfeit handbags and several counterfeit watches were seized from the store at the time of his arrest on Tuesday. An expert on intellectual property and luxury goods confirmed the items were counterfeit, police say.

Yakubov was arraigned Tuesday. He faces a first-degree counterfeiting charge.

Yakubov was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on August 14. He faces a maximum sentence of one and a third to four years in prison if convicted of the charge.

Images via NCDA