The National Football League on Thursday credited federal border and customs agencies for seizing $24 million worth of counterfeit Super Bowl tickets and bogus merchandise before it was able to hit the streets ahead of this year’s game.
NFL Vice President of Legal Affairs Dolores DiBella said Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations team and Customs and Border Protection seized nearly 285,000 counterfeit sports items worth $24.2 million.
This year’s haul, dubbed Operation Team Player, is a 54 percent spike from last year’s $15 million counterfeit bust.
The 2017 operation saw $20 million of fake merchandise seized, while 2016 resulted in the seizure of nearly 450,000 counterfeit items worth an estimated $39 million.
This year, 28 people were arrested in connection to the smuggling ring, and 21 have been convicted.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is committed to targeting criminals attempting to disrupt the Super Bowl and other major sporting events by engaging in counterfeiting and additional illicit activities,” ICE Deputy Director Ronald Vitiello said in a statement issued Thursday. “Intellectual property theft has very severe consequences, which include negatively impacting the U.S. economy; threatening the health and safety of American consumers; and funding criminal organizations involved in violent crimes.”
DiBella said the investigation is not over and homeland security officials are have obtained a civil court order to seize counterfeit items, including tickets, in Atlanta in the next few days leading up to the Sunday game.
NFL senior counsel Michael Buchwald said anyone who unknowingly buys counterfeit tickets to see the New England Patriots play the Los Angeles Rams Sunday will not be allowed into Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
“Every year we see fans who arrive at the stadium on game day only to be turned away at the gates because they bought counterfeit tickets. The quality of counterfeit tickets can be very sophisticated but no matter how real the tickets may look, a fake ticket will not get you into the game,” Buchwald said.
Authentic tickets will have wording on the side of the ticket that fades when heat is applied.
The Super Bowl has increasingly seen counterfeit items produced and sold leading up to the game. For example, in 2012, agents seized only $4.8 million in gear.
The FBI, Atlanta Police Department, and Department of Justice also worked with ICE, CBP, and the NFL. HSI’s National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center oversaw the operation.
