PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia couple has been sentenced to federal prison for running a counterfeit electronics operation that imported fake cell phones and accessories bearing major brand names, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced that Yangwei Li, 38, also known by several aliases including Jason Lee and Jason Li, and his wife, Yawen Huang, 38, also known as Yvonne Huang, were each sentenced this week to 18 months in prison. They were also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $60,000 in restitution.
The pair pleaded guilty in November 2024 to two counts of mail fraud after being charged by indictment in September 2023.
According to court filings, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began intercepting shipments addressed to Li under various aliases in July 2018. Over the next two years, authorities seized 24 shipments containing counterfeit telephones and accessories with an estimated retail value of nearly $350,000. The goods carried fake trademarks from companies including Apple, Samsung, and AKG, along with counterfeit Underwriters Laboratories safety marks.
Despite repeated seizure notices from Customs and six cease-and-desist letters from Samsung, neither Li nor Huang responded, prosecutors said.
In April 2021, federal agents searched the couple’s Philadelphia home and uncovered thousands of counterfeit products, including iPhones, Apple Watch chargers, Samsung headphones, and other branded accessories. Investigators also found packaging materials and electronic devices linking the couple to six eBay accounts used to sell the counterfeit merchandise. The domestic value of the items seized from their residence was more than $224,000.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Shapiro and Ruth Mandelbaum.
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