Staten Island Man Gets 30 Months In Prison For Trafficking Over $2.5 Million In Counterfeit Footwear Through Port Of Newark

NEWARK, N.J. – A Staten Island, New York, man was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for attempting to distribute more than $2.5 million of counterfeit UGG-brand boots that were shipped into the Port of Newark, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Shi Wei Zheng, 42, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John Michael Vazquez to an information charging him with one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. Judge Vazquez imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From September 2016 through February 2017, Zheng received certain shipping container numbers from an individual overseas that identified at least three containers containing counterfeit UGG boots. Cheng asked individuals working at the Port of Newark to remove the containers from the port before they could be examined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Once the containers were removed, Zheng directed that they be delivered to other individuals working for him, who would then distribute the boots in New Jersey and elsewhere.

However, before Zheng could distribute the goods, law enforcement intercepted the containers, examined their contents, and determined the boots were counterfeit. At no time was Zheng authorized to import authentic or counterfeit UGG merchandise.

In total, Zheng trafficked in over 15,000 pairs of counterfeit UGG boots, with a total estimated retail value of over $2.5 million. Zheng also paid individuals over $50,000 in exchange for the delivery of the containers.

In addition to the prison sentence, Judge Vazquez sentenced Zheng to two years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Carpenito credited special agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), under the direction of Acting Director of Field Operations Leon Hayward, New York Field Office, with the investigation. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason S. Gould of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Scott B Tulman Esq., New York