Flea Market Raid: Homeland Security Cracks Down On Counterfeit Goods

Could this be the end of the local flea market?

In an effort to crack down on counterfeiting, the Department of Homeland Security has begun targeting flea markets across the country in a series of high-profile raids that’s led to the seizure of millions of dollars worth of merchandise.

The latest example is a recent raid in southwest Baltimore at Patapsco Flea Market, a 300,000 square foot space where 250 small vendors hawk goods and oddities — everything from live crabs to jewelry to clothing. Only open on Saturdays and Sundays, the marketplace was shut down this past Sunday after a two and a half year investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, which found that the market was selling counterfeit merchandise, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Federal agents discovered that nearly 70 percent of the brand name items at the store were allegedly fake and being sold as Nike, Polo, North Face, Louis Vuitton, Gucci and other brands. Confiscated items included 8,911 counterfeit DVDs worth $122,210; 10,699 counterfeit CDs worth $128,000; and 1,728 counterfeit items, including handbags, NFL merchandise and sneakers worth $648,000, according to theInternational Business Times.

“ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents are executing a federal search warrant at the Patapsco Flea Market as part of an ongoing criminal investigation,” said a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement provided by spokeswoman Nicole Navas. “HSI special agents, with assistance from our law enforcement and industry partners, are seizing what is believed to be counterfeit, pirated and unlicensed merchandise that was being sold at the flea market. In order not to compromise this ongoing enforcement action, no additional information can be disclosed at this time.”

It appears that Homeland Security is putting more pressure on flea markets to ensure that their products are legitimate, evidenced by another high-profile raid that resulted in the seizure of 21,308 items worth an estimated $900,000 at an El Paso, Texas, flea market just a few days prior. Counterfeit media and merchandise has proliferated online, but as the raids indicate, remain a significant and potentially growing problem on the ground as well. The Washington-based International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition values the global trade in illegitimate goods at $600 billion a year, rising from $5.5 billion three decades ago, The Sun reported.

Since its inception in June 2010, Operation In Our Sites (IOS) has resulted in the seizure of 758 domain names, 11 criminal arrests and the seizure of over $1.3 million, according to data provided by Navas. Launched by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in conjunction with Homeland Security Investigations, the initiative has found that 705 of these domains offered tangible merchandise, and 53 offered intangible media products via downloads or streaming.

Benefitting from a $43.2 billion increase in its 2012 budget, as reported by The Washington Post, Homeland Security now has even more funding to conduct elaborate stings on counterfeiters. Apart from raids in 1996, 2004 and 2006 for similar offenses at Patapsco, undercover agents even rented out small booths at the market in April and May 2011 to scout the premises, The Sun reported. Much of the sale of counterfeit goods is handled in cash, allowing the business to avoid taxes. The affidavit reveals that cash deposits at Patapsco were often mixed with money from the Patapsco Bingo Hall, a building across the parking lot. The affidavit also says that both spaces “appear” to be owned by the Brzuchalski family, who could not be reached for comment.

Questions remain what the raids might mean for small, legitimate retailers at flea markets like Patapsco, who use the venues as means to earn a living — and how many more the government may have planned.

 

Electric bill skyrockets after smart meter; opt-out option coming, but will cost

The electric bill in January 2011 was $150.23, the usual cost of the monthly bill and typical for this small Laguna Woods home.

One year later, the bill was $514.34.

What could have possibly caused this$364 increase – a leap of 243 percent? A new state-of-the art Jacuzzi? Millions of holiday lights to rival Disneyland?

No, Pat Wiseman said. The only change to his parents’ home was a new smart meter from the electric company, Southern California Edison. It had been installed at the end of October.

Smart meters are part of the new Edison SmartConnect grid. They connect to “a secure wireless network” that SCE says gives customers greater control to manage their usage – even from a cellphone, many miles from home. Smart meters are also read remotely, so employees don’t have to trek to the house to read the meter.  By the end of this year, 5 million smart meters are slated to be installed in Southern California. SCE is almost done installing them in Orange County – but there may soon be a way to opt out (at a price).

It was after his mother’s smart meter was installed that Wiseman started seeing problems. Between Nov. 10 and Dec. 13, the usage for the 1,600 square-foot home was 62.4 kilowatts per hour, he said. Between Dec. 13 and Jan. 12, it was 102.1 kilowatts per hour.

Wiseman argues that there’s no reason the consumption should have changed, because his mother’s habits did not. She lives alone, spends most of her time in her bed, and has one 24-hour care person with her. He lays the blame for the astounding increase squarely on the new meter.

When we first spoke to SCE, a spokesman said there is no way of telling if there are accuracy problems without examining  the individual usage of the consumer.  But the company said it has not had complaints about accuracy. Instead, he said, consumers say the new meters improve their ability to track their usage.

However, since December of 2008, theCalifornia Public Utilities Commission has received 946 complaints on SCE’s smart meters, ranging from concern over health dangers to privacy and billing issues, to simply not wanting the smart meter at all.

The health issues people complain about include dizziness, nausea and headaches – symptoms some say are caused by the radio frequency (RF) radiation that the smart meters emit – as well as worries about being exposed to possible carcinogens.

SCE has compared the strength of smart meters’ RF signals to other household devices, and says that a cellphone next to your ear emits a signal that’s tremendously stronger than a smart meter three feet away (the cellphone signal being 4,960 microwatts per-centimeter-squared higher than the smart meter’s, to be exact).

Due to the complaints and various citizen action groups banning together against smart meters, the state Public Utilities Commission will consider an opt-out proposal for consumers at its April 19 meeting.

The proposal was put forward March 15, and lays out the options on how to best institute an opt-out program, as well as the cost. Choosing to opt out will not be free of charge.

The Public Utilities Commission’s Division of Ratepayer Advocates and the Consumer Power Alliance are pushing for an analog meter opt-out option, because that’s what Pacific Gas and Electric Co. had to do for its customers in Northern California.

The DRA is dedicated to “obtaining the lowest possible rate for service consistent with reliable and safe service levels,” according to its site.  The CPA is a group of concerned citizens and organizations that formed to oppose the transitions to smart grids and smart meters.

SCE argues that it would be better if the opt-out option allowed customers to keep the meter they currently have, or had, prior to the smart meter installations.

The opt-out proposal does not talk about the problems ratepayers had with privacy or health.

According to one proposal, if a customer wants to opt out now, he would have to pay an initial fee of $75, and after that a monthly fee of $10. SCE estimated in the proposal that 61,000 of its customers would choose the opt-out option, and it will be filing “updated costs associated with the opt-out option in the future.” But at $75a pop, that initial $75 charge would cost folks $4.6 million, and the ongoing monthly $10 charge would haul in $610,000 a month.

These rates may change after the CPUC meetings conclude.

“The big issue is that rates need to be lowered to compensate for the higher readings you get with smart meters and ‘opt out’ does nothing about this,” Wiseman said. “And yet all of the electricity providers are going to the CPUC requesting higher rates. I think the CPUC is heavily tilted in favor of the electricity providers and hardly anyone at the CPUC is looking out for the interests of consumers. Unless the public is aware and upset, nothing will change.”

The CPUC said that the utility companies it regulates  are required to submit rate applications every threeyears, so requests to change rates are nothing new.

But the possibility of an opt-out program isn’t enough for Maureen Howman of Stop OC Meters.

“People need to be made aware and they need to tell people they have a choice,” Howman said. “They have a choice to keep the original system they have right now or switch. It’s not right constitutionally.”

If you want to weigh in on this issue, you can file a comment with the CPUC at public.advisor@cpuc.ca.gov. We will update you after the April 19 CPUC meeting.

 

HEMET: Police warn phone scams on the rise

Hemet police have issued a warning about a series of phone scams that are trying to defraud residents.

Police have received an increase in calls primarily from elderly residents who are being targeted. Several people have reported being taken advantage of after receiving questionable phone calls asking them to send money, Sgt. Nate Miller said in a written statement.

Many of the calls will identify the target by name, Miller said. Among the ruses being conducted:

Publisher’s Clearing House: A scam artist will call offering a prize in a drawing or other contest. To collect the prize money — which doesn’t really exist — a resident must pay a tax or fees.

Jamaican or international lottery: Someone will call to announce the target has won a jackpot but must pay taxes or fees to collect the money. A common email lottery scam involves a writer saying they have won the lottery but need help collecting the money. They offer to give the target the majority of the cash if the target will post a small advance to cover expenses.

California earthquake repair: A scam artist will call to report the target’s home needs to be inspected or repairs were already completed for past earthquake damage. The scammers then demand to be paid for a service that was unnecessary or never done.

Lost, injured or arrested relative: Someone will call a home claiming to be a grandchild or other relative. They will ask the target to wire money so they can get out of jail, pay a hospital bill, fix a broken-down car or something similar.

Many of the calls are international. Hemet police said they may not be able to identify callers coming from outside the country. And once money is wired somewhere — inside the country or not — it cannot be recovered.

Police urge residents never to give personal information over the phone to someone they don’t know. They said authentic lotteries don’t require winners to pay to collect money. People are advised not to pay for unsolicited contract repair or inspections at their home. And if they get a call from someone claiming to be a relative in need, they should contact another relative to verify the story before sending money.

Suspicious phone calls should be reported to the police.