3 admit smuggling more than 40,000 counterfeit Apple, Sony products into Florida

MIAMI, Fla. — Three people pleaded guilty Wednesday to smuggling 40,000 fake iPhones, iPads, iPods, Sony camcorders and accessories into Florida over the course of five years.

Married couple Andreina Becerra, 31, and Roberto Volpe, 34, and Rosario La Marca, 54, entered guilty pleas on charges of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, to smuggle goods into the United States and to structure financial transactions; and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

According to court documents, Becerra and Volpe received more than 360 shipments from a Chinese company that included the fake electronics complete with counterfeit labels and packaging.

Becerra and Volpe would receive the products at their Miami home and ship many of them to La Marca, who was operating out of New Jersey, investigators said.

The retail value of the items, if they were legitimate, would have been upwards of $15 million, court documents said.

The counterfeit electronics were also shipped to individuals in New York, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, California, Oklahoma, Louisiana and other areas for distribution, investigators said.

The group wired more than $1 million to the Chinese manufacturer to purchase the fake Apple and Sony products and packaging, a 31-page indictment said.

The scheme ran from July 2009 through February 2014, officials said.

The three, along with their Chinese supplier, Jianhua Li, were indicted in April 2015.

Li has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

When they are sentenced later in the year, Becerra, Volpe and La Marca face up to 15 years in prison and more than $2 million in fines.

Cox Media Group