2 Men Charged With Selling Phony Goods

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office filed criminal charges Wednesday against two men, including one from Van Nuys, accusing them of selling counterfeit property at a North Hollywood swap meet.

Bong Chul Lee, 41, of Van Nuys, is charged with selling merchandise with counterfeit trademarks and with false advertising, said Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office. Lee could face six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.

In a separate case, Dong Kwan Kim, 42, of South Los Angeles is charged with one count of selling merchandise with counterfeit trademarks and could face one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, Qualls said.

“[The law] is trying to take the profit out of selling someone else’s goods,” said Greg Parham, the city attorney handling both cases.

The charges against the two men stem from an investigation initiated by the Western Anti-Counterfeit Coalition--an investigating agency that represents several major brand-name manufacturers--and completed by LAPD North Hollywood detectives, Qualls said.

Private investigators told police they saw the two men last December operating separate shops and selling products such as T-shirts and jackets with counterfeit trademarks, including those imitating Nike, Calvin Klein and National Football League logos.

The investigators said they gave the men literature informing them that selling counterfeit property is illegal.

When the investigators returned in January, however, they allege, the two men were still selling the counterfeit merchandise.

The investigators and LAPD officers subsequently seized 915 items from Lee’s business and 1,179 items from Kim’s shop, Qualls said.

Both men are scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles Municipal Court--Lee on Sept. 5 and Kim on Sept. 12, according to the city attorney’s office.