A federal grand jury has charged seven defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods, and trafficking in counterfeit goods in connection with an organised retail theft scheme.
Three of the defendants were arrested last week.
According to the indictment filed on August 26, 2025, and unsealed today, Weidong Liu, 33, Chen Shen, 37, and Weiqin Xu, 34, all of whom are Chinese nationals, and four other defendants, who remain subject to arrest, engaged in a year-long scheme to steal genuine brand-name consumer electronics products, including computer tablets and earphones.
Under the scheme, the defendants allegedly purchased iPad tablets and AirPods earphones from a major retailer with stores throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and elsewhere.
The indictment states that the defendants then returned to the same retailer counterfeit versions bearing the brand name’s trademarks and serial numbers that matched the iPad tablets and AirPods earphones they had previously purchased from that retailer, in an attempt to obtain the original purchase value back.
The counterfeits were returned in the purchased, genuine original packaging that also bore the brand name’s trademarks and the genuine products’ serial numbers.
In many instances, the original packaging was resealed with imitation stickers that matched the original sealing stickers to make the return appear as if it were unopened.
The defendants allegedly imported counterfeit goods and imitation sealing stickers from China. The indictment also alleges that the defendants exported genuine iPad tablets and AirPods earphones to China.
United States Attorney Craig Missakian and Homeland Security Investigations acting special agent in charge Jeffrey Brannigan made the announcement.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, defendants each face a maximum statutory sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 and mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and 10 years in prison and a $2,000,000 fine for each count of conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a) and trafficking in counterfeit goods in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a)(1).
Liu, Shen, and Xu all made their initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim. All three defendants will next appear on September 3, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Alex Tse for a continued arraignment and detention hearing.
