It seems fake replicas of streetwear brands like Supreme and Bape have surged, coinciding with the brands respective growing popularity with skaters and young people. Many have traveled to China or ordered off of sketchy websites to purchase coveted pieces by these brands for a fraction of their normal price.
However, a massive fake Supreme operation was taken down this week as a father and son duo who ran the massive operation-- opening stores in Europe and China and allegedly posed as the owners of the company-- were sentenced to ten and three years respectively and hit with a $10.4 million fine for guilty charges on two fraud counts.
"Like ticks, they jumped from one company to another and one jurisdiction to another," London Judge Martin Beddoe remarked about the father-son duo during the sentencing. Michel Di Pierro, 53, and his 24-year old son Marcello Di Pierro were convicted of pretending to be the owners of the Supreme company while opening up fake stores selling fake Supreme products in Europe and China and establishing trademark registrations in San Marino, Italy, Indonesia, Singapore, and Spain.
The Judge went on to blast Michel and Marcello for "brazen" and "dishonest" conduct, stating that they "plagiarized" the brand.
The father defended himself and his son from the charges, stating that the court's accusations were "a very grave and unjustified assault," continuing that they were “absurd, unfounded, and slanderous allegations of counterfeiting registered trademarks,” according to the Fashion Law.
Warrants are out for Michel and Marcello's arrests, as they were not present in court.