NEWARK — The brown suede boots from China (click here) looked as if they were made by UGG Australia, but the label was missing an “i” — a dead giveaway that these “Australa” boots were counterfeit. The boots, and millions of dollars of other fake merchandise were stopped at New Jersey ports, federal officials said Friday.
A New Jersey resident and 28 other people have been charged with offenses ranging from smuggling enormous quantities of counterfeit items through Port Newark and Port Elizabeth to money laundering.
The estimated retail value of the items — more than $325 million if they were legitimate — makes it one of the largest cases of its kind ever prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice, officials said....
