Store Owner Charged With Trafficking Counterfeit Sports Apparel

BOSTON - A Chicopee store owner was charged today in federal court with selling counterfeit NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA sports apparel.

James M. Dent, 51, was charged in an Information with trafficking in counterfeit goods. The Information alleges that between 2007 and 2012, Dent sold counterfeit sports apparel from the four major professional sports leagues, in his Central and Western Massachusetts stores. The stores were located in the Holyoke Mall in Holyoke (Sports Zone); the Greendale Mall in Worcester (Sports Zone); the Berkshire Mall in Lanesborough (Collectibles and Cards); the Hampshire Mall in Hadley (Collectibles and Cards); and the Eastfield Mall in Springfield (Collectibles and Cards).

The statutory maximum penalty is 10 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Bruce M. Foucart, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Harman Burkart of Ortiz’s Cybercrime Unit.

The details contained in the Information are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.