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Importer sentenced for bringing in counterfeit exercise gear and bribing customs official

LOS ANGELES - A Southern California woman who was convicted earlier this year of bribery and trafficking in counterfeit exercise gear was sentenced Monday to 41 months in federal prison for attempting to bring counterfeit Malibu Pilates and Bowflex equipment into the United States.

Chunchai Yu, also known as Katherine Yu, 47, of Chino, Calif., was sentenced Monday morning by United States District Judge Percy Anderson. The charges are the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations, ICE's Office of Professional Responsibility and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Following a trial in July, Yu was found guilty of two counts of bribery and six counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods. The jury in the case determined that Yu imported approximately $581,000 worth of counterfeit exercise equipment from China, gear that was detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection in July 2009. Yu later negotiated and paid a $12,000 cash bribe to an ICE undercover agent she thought was a customs official, with the hope of having the shipment released to her.

"This sentence should serve as a warning to those engaged in product counterfeiting and other types of commercial piracy," said Claude Arnold, special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Los Angeles. "Intellectual property crimes like this not only result in the loss of U.S. jobs and revenues, but the importation of substandard or tainted products also poses a serious threat to consumers' health and safety."