Photo Gallery | Three arrested, $70K worth of counterfeit goods seized

Three men have been arrested for selling counterfeit goods over the past two weekends, according to Orangeburg County Sheriff Leroy Ravenell.

“On Saturday, September 15, a joint investigation by the Sheriff’s Office, South Carolina Secretary of State, and Blazer Investigations at the Springfield Flea Market resulted in the arrest of Charles Earl Fields,” said Ravenell. “Investigators confiscated 816 movie DVDs from a booth being rented by Fields.”

Deputies say officers also located $500 in counterfeit sneakers, three pairs of Nike AF-1 and two pairs of Jordans that were on an abandoned table at the rear of the market.

On Sunday, September 23, officers went to the Orangeburg Flea Market and arrested one man with counterfeit merchandise and another with counterfeit goods and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, according to sheriff’s deputies.

Ravenell says Djiby Ndiaye was arrested with approximately $50,000 in counterfeit items and officers seized $20,000 in counterfeit merchandise from Charles Will Hamilton, Jr. Hamilton was also charged with exploitation of a vulnerable adult, an individual with Alzheimer’s  that Hamilton had working to sell the merchandise.

Ravenell concludes “Copyright and trademark infringement are often seen as victimless crimes, but the State of South Carolina hurts when we do not receive the fees and taxes from items being sold in this state.”