Crime Time

Arlington police foil bootleg movie operation

Arlington police have nailed an elaborate counterfeiting operation.

They seized hundreds of copies of movies, many of them currently on the big screen in theaters across the country.

Included were bootleg copies of Zero Dark Thirty, Skyfall and Django Unchained.

See the APD Face Book page for more.

-- Bill Miller

 

North Texas man prison-bound for dealing in counterfeit duds

A Frisco man may be trading in his faux-designer duds for khaki workpants and shirts, at his new abode. Joven Joven, 40, who operated AnteUp Sales with his girfriend, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to trafficking in counterfeit trademarks. Joven sold counterfeit clothing and jewelry, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The clothing at federal prisons is often stamped with registration numbers, rather than designer names. It could be worse - some jails prefer bright orange jumpsuits or, for the more traditional look, stripes. Some prisons offer some nice jewelry, though.

Feds give fake Rolexes a real flattening

 Talk about crushing out crime!

Authorities in Philadelphia used a steamroller-like compacter to flatten 7,000 fake Rolex watches that were seized by the feds. Sure the destruction of illegal was wares was a publicity stunt to warn criminals that  counterfeiting is frowned upon, but it must have been impressive, nonetheless.

The counterfeiter in this case, Binh Cam Tran, is serving six years in federal prison after pleading guilty last year.

Tran fabricated hundreds of thousands of fake Rolex watches at his Philadelphia-area home, and had parts for about 1 million more, The Associated Press reported.

-- Lance Murray

-- Associated Press photo