Melissa Cruz, a New Britain, Conn., resident, plead guilty Monday in a U.S. district court in Hartford for her participation in a conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit goods.
The 37-year-old and her co-conspirators made more than $4 million in gross sales of counterfeit clothing and fake designer handbags through peer-to-peer payment services including CashApp, PayPal and Venmo, according to David X. Sullivan, U.S. attorney for Connecticut.
His office revealed the news with Michael J. Krol, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations for New England. After appearing before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford, Cruz was released on her own recognizance pending her sentencing, which is scheduled for March 12.
Based on court documents and statements that were made in court, between 2021 and 2024 Cruz conspired with others to sell knockoff luxury clothing, and fake designer handbags and jewelry bearing counterfeit trademarks to customers across the U.S., including some products she imported from outside the U.S. Cruz used Facebook to host live shows to showcase, advertise and sell the phony goods.
Between March 2022 and March 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents seized multiple international parcels that contained “dozens” of counterfeit handbags from Thailand, China and Hong Kong that were addressed to Cruz’s residence in New Britain. On Dec. 19, 2024, law enforcement officials conducted a court-authorized search of her home and seized nearly 2,000 units of counterfeit goods, according to Sullivan’s office.
The investigation was being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The case is being prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorney Daniel P. Gordon.
Some scammers have edged into Facebook Live, which is popular with influencers, budding musicians and others, who are looking to share experiences in real time such as a performance, a Q&A or a virtual event. There have been reports of some counterfeiters using it to create clone celebrity accounts to sell fake merchandise and execute other scams.
