With hundreds of millions of dollars in cash, organized crime has set up counterfeit operations as a way to launder money. From such places as the Pacific Rim, Italy, Russia, Spain, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina, the Chinese triads and other organized gangs illegally mass produce everything from computer software to pharmaceuticals. When New York State passed felony legislation regarding counterfeit production and distribution, counterfeiters moved into Pennsylvania and other states whose laws provided for lesser penalties. Until recently, Pennsylvania law provided civil and criminal penalties relating to narcotics, theft of trade secrets, deceptive business practices and copying of original materials, but not to counterfeiting of consumer products. The law provides the necessary incentives to make fines not just a cost of doing business.
Prosecutors have the tools to penalize counterfeiters.
When convicted, counterfeiters will go to jail and forfeit their goods and anything associated with their manufacture and distribution. Consumer health, however, is not the only issue. Nationwide, the automobile industry estimates it could employ 200,000 additional auto workers if counterfeit auto parts could be eliminated. Consumers must become alert to this problem. If the price seems too good to be true, the product is probably a counterfeit.