A four month trademark infringement investigation has led to the arrest of two men.
The Irmo Police Department along with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, South Carolina Secretary of State’s office, Darlington County Sheriff’s Department worked together to make the arrests and seize several thousand dollars worth of shirts, computer equipment and printing equipment.
Arrested were Travis Dwain Collins of 1320 Pineland Drive in Columbia and Willie Bernard Smith of 419 Lewes Circle in Irmo. Both were taken into custody by Customs Agents and have been arraigned in Federal Court.
The two men, Travis Dwain Collins and Willie Bernard Smith would produce t-shirts with trademarked logos and designs to sell at sporting events around the southeast such as the Superbowl in Tampa, Florida and the Southern 500 NASCAR race in Darlington. Both men have been charged in Federal Court by ICE with Trafficking in Counterfeit Goods or Services. Both men are out on $25,000 unsecured bonds. The possible sentence for this offense is 10 years in prison and/or $2,000,000 in fines.
“This case is an example of law enforcement throughout the country working together. These men were depriving legitimate businesses of potential profit in a time of dire economic stress” said Chief Brian Buck.
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