A woman is accused of selling hundreds of counterfeit high-end products at a store in the Town Center at Boca Raton.
33-year-old Rose Yavru was arrested Tuesday on a charge of selling or offering for sale counterfeit merchandise. The investigation began last September when police received a tip regarding a store in the mall selling high-quantities of counterfeit Louis Vuitton items and other goods.
According to the report, Yavru worked at the store called “Hamsa Shoes”, which operated at a different location in the mall under the name “Hamsa Boutique.”
Photo By: CBS 12
Investigators discovered that the store received a cease-and-desist letter last year from a firm representing Louis Vuitton and Chanel to stop selling items that infringed on their trademarks and copyrights.
In addition the report states that officers and investigators with “A Action Investigations” managed to purchase a Louis Vuitton jacket for $280 which was later confirmed as counterfeit.
A store employee told police she would have to text or call Yavru to get a price on certain unmarked items in the store, and that some customers would ask for a product from the back, as if it was a “secret code word,” wrote police in the report.
After issuing a search warrant, police seized more than 1,800 counterfeit items from the store, which included brands such as Fendi, Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, Kate Spade, Kors, Nike, and Tommy Hilfiger, and more.
Yavru, according to the report, told police in her native country of Turkey it’s no big deal to put counterfeit items in the display window of stores. She later admitted knowing it was wrong. “I thought so but I didn’t know big trouble, but I didn’t know it was this much trouble,” she told police.
Police estimated the value of the counterfeit items to be worth more than $20,000.