DA warns fans of counterfeit sports gear

The Harris County district attorney’s office is warning sports fans against buying or selling fraudulent sports gear during the upcoming Super Bowl weekend, according to a statement issued Thursday afternoon.

Houston police already have arrested four individuals for trademark counterfeiting. Three defendants including 35-year-old Usman Tassadiq, 19-year-old Abdul Bais Wali and 20-year-old Waqas Waqas, allegedly were attempting to sell fake Houston Texans Tshirts from a shop on Bellaire and now face up to two years in state jail and a $10,000 fine.

The three men allegedly manufactured 115 shirts with a counterfeit marking between early December and Jan. 28, according to court documents.

Jun Sung Lee, 52, also was caught with what authorities described as a variety of counterfeit items on Jan. 28, including Super Bowl gear, at a store on Harwin Drive. Lee, who resides in Katy, now faces up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” said District Attorney Kim Ogg, of especially inexpensive sports merchandise. “Be wise and be aware.”

Kayla Pickens, manages the sports gear store Pro Image Sports inside the Galleria. She said it’s not rare for customers to come in and complain about being ripped off at another store.

“Unfortunately for the customers that aren’t really familiar with sports, they get bamboozled a lot,” Pickens said. “To be on the safe side, I would always purchase from the popular stores that everybody usually goes to.”

Similar to Pickens, the district attorney’s office advises customers to buy sports merchandise from established retail stores and to examine the purchased item carefully for low quality, loose stitching and off-center logos, which are all signs that it could be a fake.

Officials also remind consumers to look for NFL hologram stickers on products and to make sure they move in the light and at different angles.

Super Bowl shirts, lanyards, bracelets and decals are among the fake items that have already been confiscated.

The three men attempting to sell fake Texans shirts have each made their $2,000 bond and are set to appear in court on March 6. Lee also made his $5000 bond and will appear in court on Feb. 16.

Pickens encourages people to look for highquality items, noting that many sports paraphernalia items listed for under $100 aren’t real.

“You almost get what you pay for,” Pickens said. “If you’re going to pay real cheap for it, nine times out of 10, it’s not real.”