Fake Handbags, Shoes, DVDs Seized In Flea World Raid

Two men and two women face charges after a raid at Flea World in Sanford. In all, 1,100 fake handbags, shoes and DVD were seized. The man who runs the flea market is not surprised criminals set up shop in his busy marketplace.

During Saturday's sheriff's office raid on four stalls at Flea World, designer handbags with labels like Coach, Burberry, and Prada were taken away, as were counterfeit Nike Air Jordan shoes. Some 200 pairs were seized.

In all, deputies from the county sheriff's economic crimes unit netted at least $100,000 worth of fake merchandise. Private investigators were present to identify the fake goods based on design patterns and brand names.

Four people, two of them brothers, face jail time related to dealing in stolen goods. A warrant is out for the arrest of a fifth man.

"Some of these are felony charges, so they could be severe. We continue to go through inventory," said Carrie Hoeppner, Seminole County Sheriff's Office.

Suspects Flea World Bust 031207 Four people, two of them brothers, face jail time related to dealing in stolen goods. The eight-month long investigation started with a tip. Deputies then made their own buys of the phony wares, including illegal DVDs. They even sold the suspect vendors merchandise they said was stolen.

During the weekend raids, customers approached deputies and said they had recently bought goods from the vendors, handbags that in some cases came with certificates of authenticity.

"Some of them were significantly priced, $90, in excess of $100, so people are spending their hard-earned money for items that really are counterfeit," Hoeppner said.

The manager at Flea World said, with 1,700 stalls, it's impossible to watch every merchant, some of whom rent space for as little as $13 a day.

"I can't tell, a lot of times, what's counterfeit, what's not counterfeit. It's so good knock offs these days, you can't really tell anymore, hardly," said Flea World manager George Schnippel.

Schnippel said someone returned to one of the stalls the day after the raids and tried to reopen, but he would not allow it, saying the vendors had clearly violated posted rules about selling stolen or counterfeit goods.