Hicksville retailer pleads guilty to trademark violation

About $2 million in coats and jeans with fake designer labels will be tested for safety to determine if they can go to the needy, part of a deal with a Hicksville retailer who pleaded guilty Tuesday to trying to violate trademark laws, authorities said.

Haryash Paul, 64, will pay for an independent inspection of more than 50,000 winter coats and 1,000 pairs of jeans seized in December, and if the counterfeits pass consumer safety standards, they will be sent to nonprofits that distribute clothing, the Nassau County District Attorney’s office said.

Bearing fake labels with “The North Face” and “True Religion,” they were seized from a Hicksville warehouse in a joint operation between investigators from the district attorney’s office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

“Fortunately we have been able to take one man’s greed and turn it around by donating these clothes to the needy if they pass the necessary safety testing,” said Angel M. Melendez, special agent in charge of the New York office for homeland security investigations.

Paul pleaded guilty to first-degree attempted trademark counterfeiting and second-degree trademark counterfeiting, both felonies, prosecutors said. Under the plea deal, he is expected to get a three-year conditional discharge but will face six months in jail and five years’ of probation if he violates terms of the deal, authorities said. He was initially charged with first-degree trademark counterfeiting and would have faced 5 to 15 years in prison.

Paul’s attorney, Jeffery Einhorn of Manhattan, did not respond to specific questions but said in an email that his client is “pleased with the result.”

The retailer was arrested at the warehouse in December when investigators with a search warrant raided the location. He operated Manhattan-based Glamour Line Inc. and is associated with a Jericho-based business known as TRB Designs and Resources, Inc., authorities said. He sold mostly wholesale to other merchants, not retailers authorized to sell the designer brands, the district attorney’s office said.

Under state law, nonprofits getting donated counterfeit clothing must inspect or pay for inspection of the items they to ensure they are “in a condition consistent with federal consumer safety standards,” prosecutors said.

Not only will Paul pay for the inspection, he will also have to pay for the storage fees, authorities said.

As the victims in the case, the two designer labels will be notified of the possible donation, as required by state law, prosecutors said. If they object, they have 30 days to submit a protest in writing, officials said.

“It’s not often that we get the opportunity to help so many people in need as the result of a criminal disposition,” said District Attorney Madeline Singas. “I hope that this clothing will pass safety testing so that thousands of people who need a winter coat or a pair of jeans will be able to get them.”