Federal authorities uncover almost 20,000 allegedly counterfeit cellphones: Complaint lists thousands of phones carrying Motorola, Nokia and other brands

Two separate developments on the counterfeiting front together point to a festering problem for the wireless industry. First, federal authorities in New York sued to condemn almost 20,000 allegedly counterfeit mobile phones bearing names of leading handset manufacturers, and separately Underwriters Laboratories issued a warning about a universal cellphone charger that it said carries a bogus UL trademark.
In both cases, the suspected counterfeit mobile phones, wireless accessories and battery charger appeared to have been imported from China and/or Hong Kong.
The U.S. attorney in Brooklyn, according to a complaint filed in federal district court, claimed the seized merchandise includes approximately 3,827 counterfeit Motorola Inc. phones, 5,249 counterfeit Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. phones, 4,311 counterfeit LG Electronics Co. Ltd. phones, 798 counterfeit Nokia Corp. phones and 5,503 counterfeit Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications L.P. phones.
In addition, the lawsuit filed by U.S. Attorney Benton Campbell identified approximately 2,000 counterfeit Sony Ericsson headsets, 462 boxes of counterfeit accessories and $210,990 in cash. The suit said goods were confiscated in March by law enforcement agents at the offices of Perfect Connection in Jamaica, N.Y., triggering charges of trafficking and importation of counterfeiting merchandise.
Meantime, Underwriters Laboratories said the Motor Trend Mini-Charger, model MT-M21, “has not been evaluated for safety by UL and is not eligible to bear the UL Mark.” UL noted the product is known to be sold at JC Whitney.
Wireless counterfeiting appears to be a reoccurring problem, but the scope of it is unclear.
Two years ago, Nokia won a $1.4 million judgment against a Florida counterfeiter.
And Motorola, for its part, has taken a proactive stance to thwart counterfeiting of wireless accessories, particularly Bluetooth headsets.
On a related front, U.S. wireless companies continue to file trademark suits throughout the country to halt the trafficking of pre-paid cellphones that are unlocked and then sold abroad.