Officers seize more than 400 counterfeit Super Bowl rings in shipment from China
Published: Nov. 30, 2022 at 5:09 PM EST|Updated: 20 hours ago
(Gray News) – Officials say border protection officers seized a shipment containing hundreds of fraudulent Super Bowl rings earlier this month.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency reports officers working at an express consignment operations hub in St. Louis seized the shipment on Nov. 11.
The shipment contained 422 Super Bowl championship rings bearing the image of the Lombardi Trophy.
“Counterfeit jewelry continues to flood the e-commerce market, and these rings were focused on a select group of sports collectors and their fans,” said Field Operations-Chicago Director LaFonda Sutton-Burke.
According to the agency, an import specialist determined the rings were not authentic and bore an infringing trademark owned by NFL Properties.
Authorities said the shipment was heading to a residence in Jerseyville, Illinois, from China. If the items were genuine, they would have been worth $300,000.
“Our officers are well-trained to find counterfeit merchandise like these in support of CBP’s mission of protecting the American public and the American economy,” Sutton-Burke said.
Border protection officials said jewelry was the third most popular counterfeited item in 2021, with officers seizing more than 375,000 items worth over $550 million at genuine value.