JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- An investigation in Jacksonville led to the conviction of a man in a $4.7 million circuit breaker scheme.
Elod Tamas Toldy, of Austin, Texas, received a year in prison for mail fraud and trafficking in counterfeit goods and services.
Investigators say he used his electronics firm in Austin to market counterfeit circuit breakers on eBay.
Homeland Security Investigators bought a number of counterfeit circuit breakers from Toldy. Special agents seized more than 20,000 counterfeit electronic products from Pioneer Breaker and Control Supply.
A second search in Laredo, Texas, led to the seizure of an additional 77,000 counterfeit circuit breakers and 60,000 counterfeit labels bearing the trademark UL for Underwriters Laboratories.
In all, the counterfeit merchandise had a value of nearly $5 million.
"Trafficking in counterfeit goods is a serious problem," said Sue McCormick, special agent in charge of his Tampa. "In this particular case, an individual was marketing counterfeit circuit breakers to unsuspecting consumers, which poses significant safety implications. The holiday shopping season is right around the corner. I urge consumers to protect themselves. Buy from legitimate retailers. Otherwise, you may put your health and safety at risk," added McCormick.
