Priya PatelTLDR:
- Onur Aksoy, a Florida man, was arrested for selling fake Cisco networking equipment to the U.S. military.
- He operated a large-scale counterfeit-trafficking enterprise that brought in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Onur Aksoy, a forty-year-old resident of Florida, was found guilty of running a large-scale, multi-year fraud scheme to traffic in fake and counterfeit Cisco networking equipment. The equipment sold by Aksoy ended up in sensitive military and governmental systems, hospitals, schools, and platforms supporting advanced U.S. fighter jets and military aircraft. Aksoy’s operation, one of the largest counterfeit trademark cases ever prosecuted in the United States, brought tens of thousands of low-quality, counterfeit devices from China into the U.S. supply chain, putting public health, safety, and national security at risk.
The Department of Justice stated that Aksoy established and managed one of the biggest counterfeit-trafficking enterprises through a complex, multi-year plan. His operation imported modified computer networking devices with fake Cisco labels, stickers, boxes, and packaging, valued at hundreds of millions of dollars at retail. The Pro Network Entities, operated by Aksoy, made over $100 million in revenue through this fraudulent scheme. Aksoy was sentenced to six years and six months in prison and agreed to pay restitution of $100 million to Cisco and other victims.
