Louisville CBP intercepts over $14 million in counterfeit jewelry

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —On May 1, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers stationed in Louisville seized 1,622 pieces of counterfeit designer jewelry in a single express consignment shipment. This shipment would have had a combined Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of over $14.1 million, had the goods been genuine.

The shipment, which arrived from Hong Kong and was headed to Chicago, contained 1,227 bracelets and 395 necklaces which appeared identical to well-known luxury jewelry brands, specifically: Cartier, Tiffany, and Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks. Although the pieces were almost exact replicas of their famous brands’ designs, CBP officers suspected the jewelry pieces to be counterfeit and detained them for further review.

CBP officers submitted documentation and photographs to CBP’s trade experts at the Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise for analysis. CBP’s trade experts worked with the trademark holders and verified that the products were in fact not authentic and as such were subject to seizure pursuant to CBP’s statutory and regulatory authorities.

“Our primary concerns for situations like these are consumer safety and trademark protection,” said Louisville Port Director Phil Onken. “Customs and Border Protection will continue to work closely with our trade and consumer safety partners to identify and seize counterfeit and trademark infringing merchandise, especially those products that pose a potential harm to American consumers. Counterfeits like these defraud the user and are frequently inferior. They do not meet the quality standards of the real item.” 

U.S. consumers spend more than $100 billion every year on intellectual property rights (IPR) infringing goods, falling victim to approximately 20% of the counterfeits that are illegally sold worldwide. CBP launched a Truth Behind Counterfeits educational campaign to raise consumer awareness about the consequences and dangers that can be associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods.

Trade in counterfeit consumer goods is illegal. It threatens the health and safety of American consumers, steals from trademark holders, and takes tax revenues from the government, and it funds transnational criminal organizations. Counterfeit consumer goods may also be sourced or manufactured in facilities that employ forced labor.

Counterfeiters manufacture consumer goods using substandard materials and parts that could prematurely break or harm consumers. Consumers can protect their families by purchasing authentic products from reputable retailers. Learn more about the consequences of counterfeits by visiting CBP’s Fake Goods Real Dangers webpage.

CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights enforcement program. During fiscal year 2025, CBP seized over 78,000,000 counterfeit goods with an estimated manufacturer’s suggested retail price worth over $7.3 billion, had the goods been genuine.

News media can search for additional enforcement details by viewing CBP’s IPR webpage or by viewing CBP’s IPR Dashboard and CBP’s Annual IPR Seizures Reports.

U.S. trademark and copyright owners can register with CBP to have their intellectual property protected at the border through the through the e-Recordation program (https://iprr.cbp.gov/s/).

CBP encourages anyone with information about counterfeit merchandise being illegally imported into the United States to submit an anonymous tip to CBP’s e-Allegation Program.

Follow CBP on X @CBPChicago and @DFOChicago.