Third person inducted over sales of fake clothing to US military

An operations manager at Dakota Outerwear Co has been accused of taking part in a $20m scam to defraud the US government through the sale of counterfeit clothing.

Terry Roe (48) of Burlington, North Dakota – with help from New Jersey wholesaler Ramin Kohanbash and New York businessman Bernard Klein – obtained clothing, apparel, and other gear manufactured in China and Pakistan, importing it to the US, according to the US Department of Justice.

Roe’s role in the scam was to use his position at Dakota Outerwear Co to arrange for the counterfeit goods to be sold and delivered to the US military, as well as other government and law enforcement agencies.

Among the items that Kohanbash and others arranged to counterfeit were 200 military parkas of a type used by US Air Force personnel stationed in Afghanistan, FREE hoods and Polartec fleece shirts, as well as PrimaLoft parkas and trousers.

Many of the fake garments claimed to have weather-resistant and other qualities that they did not possess, according to prosecutors.

Test purchases by law enforcement resulted in bootleg PrimaLoft parkas and trousers being shipped to the Rhode Island National Guard in East Greenwich, with fake Polartec fleeces sent to a private business in North Kingstown, RI.

A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Roe with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and traffic in counterfeit goods, mail fraud, and trafficking in counterfeit goods on September 30.

Kohanbash pleaded guilty to charges on June 12, 2019, while Klein admitted his role in the scam in August of this year. They are scheduled to be sentenced in January 2021 and December 2020, respectively.

Image by skeeze from Pixabay