Tags: Wholesale apparel, wholesale ed hardy, wholesale gino green, wholesale rocawear, wholesale sean john, wholesale urban wear

If this man has ripped you off, he has been ordered by the courts to pay restitution to not only the clothing manufacturers but also to the retailers that he ripped off by never sending them their merchandise.

His probation officers name is Kevin Egli and his phone number is 973-357-4080. I highly recommend you call and report any losses you encountered if you were a victim of his.

$1.2M IN CLOTHING SEIZED

LONG BRANCH — Tucked away in a mostly residential area is a large warehouse, 46 Fourth Ave., where what was advertised as designer clothing was on sale at a fraction of the usual price.

Customers had to know where to find Fashion Depot Group, though. There were no large signs. In fact, many people didn’t even know it was there. But then, its Web site indicated it was geared more toward wholesale operations.

The place did a brisk business, with truckloads of materials moving out and package shipments going around the country and sometimes out of it. In fact, its Web site even boast-ed a European distributor in London.

But if a customer tried to call on Tuesday, the phone would go unanswered. An answering machine promised a return call that never came.

If State Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office have it right, those designer clothes that seemed like such a good deal were counterfeits.

The European distribution center was also illusory.

Fashion Depot Group’s president, Melvin Stanger, 66, of Long Branch, was arrested at the business Thursday and charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin. He could face as much as 10 years in prison, Valentin said.

His arrest capped a lengthy investigation by the State Police Cargo Theft Unit, said State Police Sgt. Jeanne Hengemuhle.

Troopers seized more than 14,000 items of counterfeit designer clothing valued at $1.2 million. The investigation is continuing, she said.

“It is one of the biggest counterfeit merchandise jobs we’ve had in 2007,” Hengemuhle said.

Thom Leon of Brand X Trading Ltd. in London is the man Stanger’s Web site listed as his European distributor.

Not true, Leon said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

“He told us he had a large client base in Eastern Europe and would appreciate it if we could take over his distribution there,” Leon said on Tuesday. “He promised us sales leads there, but in all honesty we never got any.”

Leon said Stanger led him to believe he headed a clothing business with extensive warehouses and large numbers of employees.

But Stanger’s operation is listed as a “single location, small business” with two employees by Dun & Bradstreet in a May 7, 2007, report.

The raided company’s owner is no stranger to trouble. In July, a pair of gunmen robbed his warehouse, tying up Stanger and another employee and making off with a truckload of the clothing.

Two suspects were caught by Neptune City police about 20 minutes later when a sharp-eyed traffic cop stopped them and recognized their connection to the robbery, police said at the time.

Later, one suspect was accused of planning to kill Stanger to keep him from testifying in the case.

Police regarded it as a straightforward robbery at the time. Nothing has changed their view, Long Branch Detective Lt. Robert V. Sama said.

Stanger was released after posting a bond of $250,000.

Guilty plea in 2003

The current charges are nothing new to him. On Nov. 17, 2003, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods or services and was given eight months in prison for selling counterfeit clothing to distributors, wholesalers and retailers, court records show.

At that time, the company was called Cathy and Me Fashions with an address in the Lincroft section of Middletown, according to records in Superior Court’s Civil Division in Freehold.

The counterfeiting of trademarked goods is a big business, said Matthew C. Schmidt, communications manager for the International Trademark Association in New York.

The crime Stanger is accused of is believed to cheat companies and consumers out of millions of dollars each year, Schmidt said.

In addition, the counterfeiting industry is estimated to have cost about 120,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. between 1988 and 1998, according to testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2002.

“Stanger’s fraudulent criminal activity caused serious repercussions for the unwitting consumer and the legitimate manufacturer,” Valentin said. “The distribution of counterfeit merchandise disrupts legitimate commerce.”

“The selling of counterfeit clothing may appear to be a victimless crime, but crimes such as this finance other criminal activities,” said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, State Police superintendent. “This cooperative investigation and subsequent arrest disrupts the financial support that fuels criminal enterprises.”

Stanger could not be reached for comment.

A Long Branch man has been arrested on charges of trademark counterfeiting in connection with allegations he distributed clothing with fake brand names, authorities said yesterday.

Melvin Stanger, 66, was arrested Thursday, Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis Valentin said.

An investigation showed that Stanger had distributed clothing with brands such as Baby Phat, Apple Bottom and Red Monkey, the prosecutor said.

The suspect allegedly did business in person and used fax machines and the Internet, Valentin added.

More than 13,000 pieces of counterfeit clothing valued at more than $1 million were recovered during the investigation, Valentin added.

Legitimate manufacturers became suspicious when they began receiving customer complaints about merchandise being sold from Stanger’s Web site, Valentin said. He said the counterfeiting operation was uncovered from those complaints and a subsequent investigation.

Bail was set at $250,000, with no 10 percent option. If convicted, Stanger faces a state prison term of up to 10 years.

LONG BRANCH – A Long Branch man is being charged with selling counterfeit clothing out of a Fourth Avenue business.

On Dec. 13, members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, the New Jersey State Police and the Long Branch Police Department arrested Melvin Stanger, 66, on a complaint charging him with second-degree trademark counterfeiting.

If convicted of the charge, Stanger could face up to 10 years in prison, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Bail was set for Stanger at $250,000 with no 10 percent option, according to the press release.

“Stanger’s fraudulent criminal activity caused serious repercussions for the unwitting consumer and the legitimate manufacturer,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said in the press release.

“The distribution of counterfeit merchandise disrupts legitimate commerce,” he said.

An investigation by the prosecutor’s office and the state police revealed that Stanger distributed counterfeit clothing through a company called Fashion Depot Group located on Fourth Avenue in Long Branch.

The counterfeit clothing included imitations of items such as $1,900 jeans being sold for $29, according to the release.

Stanger’s operation included the distribution of counterfeit clothing bearing the following brand names; Baby Phat, Red Monkey, Apple Bottoms, Coogi, Akademiks, Evisu, Rocawear and Girbaud, according to the release.

Over 13,000 pieces of counterfeit clothing, valued at over $1 million, were recovered during the investigation, according to the release.

The investigation also revealed that orders were placed to Stanger’s business via the Internet, via fax and in person at the Long Branch store location. Customers paid Stanger by cash, check or wire transfers.

Representatives of the victimized manufacturers became suspicious when they began to receive customer complaints about questionable merchandise being sold through the Internet from Stanger’s Web site, according to the release.

From those complaints, it was determined, through further analysis of the products sold, that such items were in fact counterfeit, according to the press release.

Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in the press release, “The selling of counterfeit clothing may appear to be a victimless crime, but crimes such as this finance other criminal activities.

“This cooperative investigation and subsequent arrest disrupts the financial support that fuels criminal enterprise,” Fuentes said.

Customers had to know where to find Fashion Depot Group, though. There were no large signs. In fact, many people didn’t even know it was there. But then, its Web site indicated it was geared more toward wholesale operations.

The place did a brisk business, with truckloads of materials moving out and package shipments going around the country and sometimes out of it. In fact, its Web site even boast-ed a European distributor in London.

But if a customer tried to call on Tuesday, the phone would go unanswered. An answering machine promised a return call that never came.

If State Police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office have it right, those designer clothes that seemed like such a good deal were counterfeits.

The European distribution center was also illusory.

Fashion Depot Group’s president, Melvin Stanger, 66, of Long Branch, was arrested at the business Thursday and charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting, said Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin. He could face as much as 10 years in prison, Valentin said.

His arrest capped a lengthy investigation by the State Police Cargo Theft Unit, said State Police Sgt. Jeanne Hengemuhle.

Troopers seized more than 14,000 items of counterfeit designer clothing valued at $1.2 million. The investigation is continuing, she said.

“It is one of the biggest counterfeit merchandise jobs we’ve had in 2007,” Hengemuhle said.

Thom Leon of Brand X Trading Ltd. in London is the man Stanger’s Web site listed as his European distributor.

Not true, Leon said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

“He told us he had a large client base in Eastern Europe and would appreciate it if we could take over his distribution there,” Leon said on Tuesday. “He promised us sales leads there, but in all honesty we never got any.”

Leon said Stanger led him to believe he headed a clothing business with extensive warehouses and large numbers of employees.

But Stanger’s operation is listed as a “single location, small business” with two employees by Dun & Bradstreet in a May 7, 2007, report.

The raided company’s owner is no stranger to trouble. In July, a pair of gunmen robbed his warehouse, tying up Stanger and another employee and making off with a truckload of the clothing.

Two suspects were caught by Neptune City police about 20 minutes later when a sharp-eyed traffic cop stopped them and recognized their connection to the robbery, police said at the time.

Later, one suspect was accused of planning to kill Stanger to keep him from testifying in the case.

Police regarded it as a straightforward robbery at the time. Nothing has changed their view, Long Branch Detective Lt. Robert V. Sama said.

Stanger was released after posting a bond of $250,000.

Guilty plea in 2003

The current charges are nothing new to him. On Nov. 17, 2003, he pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Trenton to one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods or services and was given eight months in prison for selling counterfeit clothing to distributors, wholesalers and retailers, court records show.

At that time, the company was called Cathy and Me Fashions with an address in the Lincroft section of Middletown, according to records in Superior Court’s Civil Division in Freehold.

The counterfeiting of trademarked goods is a big business, said Matthew C. Schmidt, communications manager for the International Trademark Association in New York.

The crime Stanger is accused of is believed to cheat companies and consumers out of millions of dollars each year, Schmidt said.

In addition, the counterfeiting industry is estimated to have cost about 120,000 manufacturing jobs in the U.S. between 1988 and 1998, according to testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2002.

“Stanger’s fraudulent criminal activity caused serious repercussions for the unwitting consumer and the legitimate manufacturer,” Valentin said. “The distribution of counterfeit merchandise disrupts legitimate commerce.”

“The selling of counterfeit clothing may appear to be a victimless crime, but crimes such as this finance other criminal activities,” said Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, State Police superintendent. “This cooperative investigation and subsequent arrest disrupts the financial support that fuels criminal enterprises.”

Stanger could not be reached for comment.