Officials: $5M in counterfeit cellphone parts, $1.1M in cash seized

Authorities seized about $5 million in counterfeit cellphone components and accessories, along with $1.1 million in cash, from two Wantagh men who used them to repair cellphones that they sold as new, Nassau County officials said Thursday.

The arrests of Gurcharan Luthra, 37, and Sumesh Pasricha, 48, on Monday followed a four-month investigation into the duo, who authorities say received shipments from China and sold the goods on the internet, a store called AMS World in Wantagh and their shared residence on Poulson Street.

Representatives from Nassau police, the Nassau County Distric Attorney’s office, Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a multitude of the products, which were spread out across three long tables during the Thursday news conference in Levittown.

Luthra and Pasricha were arraigned Wednesday in First District Court in Hempstead. Luthra is charged with two counts of counterfeiting second-degree, and Pasricha is charged with counterfeiting second-degree and conspiracy fifth-degree.

The two men repaired Apple and Samsung phones using the counterfeit parts, repackaged the phones in counterfeit boxes with authentic-looking labels, and sold them throughout the metropolitan area, authorities said.

“We call them Frankenstein phones,” said Nassau Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder.

He stressed the dangers of such fake goods.

“The batteries go on fire, and they have poisonous stuff that could end up in your child’s hands,” he said.

Police also seized a 2016 Mercedes-Benz and two 2015 Toyotas.

Nassau District Attorney Madeline Singas said the investigation into the cellphone counterfeiting scheme was named Operation Bad Apples because of the volume of counterfeit Apple and Samsung products that were being sold.

“These defendants allegedly went out of their way to outfit boxes with fake labels and serial numbers, duping customers into thinking they were buying legitimate products,” she said.

By Craig Schneider

craig.schneider@newsday.comScraigo

Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.