8 Arrested for Phony Goods at Green Acres

Eight people were recently arrested and charged with selling counterfeit shoes, handbags, and electronics at the Green Acres Outdoor Flea Market in nearby Valley Stream.

Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced Tuesday that on Saturday, Dec. 15, investigators from the DA’s office conducted a joint operation with the Nassau County Police Department’s Asset Forfeiture Unit and ICE’s Trademark Counterfeit team at the Green Acres Outdoor Flea Market. Numerous booths were identified by experts for selling counterfeit Coach and Louis Vuitton handbags, UGG boots, music CDs, and DVDs.

“Counterfeit merchandisers steal billions of dollars away from legitimate businesses, funnel it into the black market, and flood the streets with cheap knockoffs,” Rice said in a release. “My office will continue working with fellow law enforcement agencies and industry experts to ensure that every customer is getting the genuine article when they hand over their hard-earned cash.”

Each defendant was issued a desk appearance ticket and faces up to four years in prison if convicted. Charged in the sweep are:

• Avinash Gayadat, 21, of Richmond Hill, is charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree.
• Raymond Gillies, 61, of Laurelton, is charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree.
• Allan Sanasse, 45, of Jamaica, is charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree.
• Rohanand Parasram, 46, of Brooklyn, is charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree.
• Migues Ragoonath, 25, of South Ozone Park, is charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree.
• Lamont Faulkner, 36, of Springfield Gardens, is charged with failure to disclose the origin of a recording.
• Gregory Janvier, 35, of Jamaica, is charged with failure to disclose the origin of a recording.
• Yu Ma, 47, of Flushing, was arrested yesterday and charged with trademark counterfeiting in the second degree. Ma allegedly abandoned her booth Saturday when she saw investigators. She was arrested when she attempted to retrieve her merchandise from Flea Market security.

The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition estimates that counterfeiting costs U.S. businesses between $200 billion and $250 billion per year, and that it is directly responsible for the loss of more than 750,000 American jobs, according to the DA release.