Charged by Royal Canadian Mounties with two counts each of:
Fraud Over $5000
And one count each of:
Passing Off and Possession of Property Obtained by Crime
Are:
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Aaron (Ron) Sananes - age 44 of 30 Charnwood Place, Thornhill, Ontario Canada |
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Mandi Fitleberg - age 45, of 30 Charnwood Place, Thornhill, Ontario Canada |
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NETWORK IT, located at 210 Don Park Road - Unit 1, Markham, Ontario Canada |
Today Thursday, February 28th, 2008 marks their first Canadian Court appearance.
Press Release - Royal Canadian Mounties (RCMP)
 On February 21, 2007 in cooperation with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Royal Canadian Mounties executed a search warrant on the business premises of NETWORK IT, located at 210 Don Park Rd. - Unit 1, Markham, Ontario Canada. |
Approximately 1,600 counterfeit Cisco parts were seized with an estimated value of over $2 million dollars.
The investigation commenced in October 2006, when Cisco Brand Protection complained that NETWORK IT was distributing large quantities of counterfeit Cisco to companies in the United States via the Internet.
Additionally, a month later in November 2006, investigators from the Royal Canadian Mounties, ICE and as well as the FBI formed a joint initiative for disrupting the flow of counterfeit Cisco in North America.
"Counterfeit products greatly undermine the integrity of our economy," said Inspector Peter Goulet - Officer in Charge of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Greater Toronto Area Federal Enforcement Section.
"In many cases the end users were unaware that counterfeit products were being placed in their computers, and depending on the function of those computers this could cause serious health and safety concerns."
Even after their counterfeit Cisco bust, Network IT still remains in business today selling networking equipment on their website:
Furthermore, NETWORK IT maintains a store on eBay after their counterfeit Cisco bust.
UNEDA - United Network Equipment Dealer Association - provides an immediate response:
NETWORK IT was formally removed from UNEDA membership back on March 12th, 2007 for violating its association ethics that prohibit the selling of counterfeit Cisco.
"One of the core objectives of UNEDA is to eradicate the presence of all counterfeit equipment in the used Cisco industry," said John Stafford - Vice President and Membership Chairman of UNEDA.
"Thousands of customers representing large and small organizations turn to UNEDA for top-quality, reliable and genuine refurbished equipment."
"Our members abide by a strict code of ethics to protect our customers from the menace of counterfeiters."
"We react quickly to expel any UNEDA member that is discovered selling stolen or counterfeit gear."
"UNEDA leverages its unmatched, collective experience in current and past-generation network equipment to continually educate our members—and customers—on the telltale signs of illegitimate equipment."
"We also work closely with various law enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute counterfeiters."
ASCDI - Association of Computer Dealers International - fails to respond:
 Joseph Marion - President of ASCDI failed to respond to telephone and email requests regarding the continued acceptance of NETWORK IT as a member in good standing with ASCDI.
Yours truly is disappointed that Joseph Marion and ASCDI are keeping NETWORK IT as a member in good standing of their association. Marion and ASCDI are certainly undermining the battle against counterfeit Cisco! Official response from Joseph Marion - President of ASCDI |
Over the last three years more than 400 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware and labels with an estimated retail value of more than $76 million have been seized.
 "Crimes like these threaten international commerce, national security and the very safety of our citizens," said Julie Myers - Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE.
"Throughout this investigation, the cooperation and partnership that we received from Cisco Systems, our law enforcement colleagues, and Chinese counterparts are a clear example of the results that can be realized through industry, interagency and international cooperation." |
The FBI named its portion of this ongoing initiative Operation Cisco Raider - an international, coordinated investigation of 15 cases involving nine FBI field offices.
The FBI worked closely with law enforcement partners including ICE, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, General Services Administration, Department of the Interior, Internal Revenue Service, and the Royal Canadian Mounties.
Over the last two years, Operation Cisco Raider has resulted in 36 search warrants that identified approximately 3,500 counterfeit network components with an estimated retail value of over $3.5 million, and has led to a total of ten convictions and $1.7 million in restitution.
ICE and CBP opened a total of 28 investigations in 17 separate field offices since 2005; eight of those investigations were worked jointly with the FBI and several with the Royal Canadian Mounties.
ICE agents have conducted 115 seizures of counterfeit Cisco products having an estimated retail value of $20.4 million.
ICE investigations have led to six indictments and four felony convictions to date.
CBP has made 373 seizures of counterfeit Cisco network hardware since 2005, and 40 seizures of Cisco labels for counterfeit products.
All together, ICE and CBP seized more than 74,000 counterfeit Cisco network components and labels with a total estimated retail value of more than $73 million.
Related Story:
| Network World | Taskforce seizes $76 Million in counterfeit Cisco network hardware |
How do YOU feel about ASCDI keeping NETWORK IT as a member in good standing of their association?
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Cisco Customer Alert
To all Cisco customers the only way to ensure you are purcasing genuine Cisco refurbished equipment is to purchase from an authorized Cisco distributor or channel partner.To help minimize the risk of buying counterfeit products we recommend that our customers obtain written assurances that the products being supplied have been purchased via authorized channels. All Cisco registered, as well as certified channel partners, are required contractually to buy Cisco product via authorized channels.
What a joke
UNEDA's comments about kicking out Network IT is like the mafia kicking out a wiseguy for violating mob rules. Yeah nice try at spin but the fact is that the gray market today got exposed for what it really is. A bunch of crooks who will resort to anything to turn a buck. Thick as thieves, the whole lot.
Quick question, assuming this was written by another end user.
When you sell your used IT equipment, what happens to it? Is it painted gray? Do you put counterfeit parts in it? What happens if you buy the wrong thing from your Cisco partner? I understand it is registered to the first end user, so they can't resell it either.
It is interesting that one organization booted the crook and another did not. However, I find it appalling that Cisco uses this as a scare tactic and a sales tool. Good for them if it works, bad for customers whose installed equipment is worthless when decommissioned.
Hardware as a service means it is an expense to us, not an asset!
UNEDA and Counterfeiters
Actually, UNEDA, of which our company is a member, is very interested in cleaning up their own ranks, and conducting business ethically. You can see some of the standards, and the efforts being made to keep the used equipment business a safe place to do business, at the UNEDA website at www.uneda.com.
Our own company rigorously inspects all incoming equipment to verify that it is not counterfeit. In one instance where we determined that a counterfeit router had gotten through the process and into an end users hands, we contacted them more than a year later, replaced the counterfeit unit with a higher spec replacement at no cost, and have tried to deal with the source of the counterfeit equipment, which was not a UNEDA member.
Law enforcement at local levels is reluctant to assist us in the process of policing and prosecuting those who deal in counterfeit gear. We have not obtained relief for the counterfeit gear that was shipped to us, for example. We applaud Cisco for their efforts at eliminating counterfeiting, but question their motives for exporting much of the manufacturing to China and other countries where intellectual property laws are not enforced, thus enabling some of the counterfeit manufacturers. On the other hand, we are discouraged that Cisco chooses to conflate "used equipment" lawfully obtained off-lease or through equipment take-outs with "counterfeit" goods, sold by disreputable individuals and vendors with no ethical standards. Likewise, using the phrase "gray market" also seems to be designed to impugn the reputation of the legitimate vendors of UNEDA. Many Cisco authorized resellers and end user customers actively supplement their pricing by buying new equipment in excess of their requirements, and sell it "sideways" in a sort of legitimized gray market that Cisco frequently ignores.
There are bad guys out there, but UNEDA does not sanction them or their actions.
a bad egg
There are deadbeats and losers in every industry. If I recall right, Cisco had their own character issues with personnel in Brazil recently. UNEDA doesn't tolerate counterfeiters and neither does Cisco... any good American doesn't want to see this fake crap crossing the border and we should all applaud the authorities for taking care of business.
There are many trust-worthy used Cisco brokers out there, there's no need to run away from the used dealers. Carefully look over your supplier before doing business, whether you're working with a Cisco VAR or a used dealer, and you won't run into jokes like this guy.
There are good alternatives to Cisco's very high prices
The very high profit margins (roughly 75%) of Cisco attracts the Counterfeiters and encourages cost conscious consuming market. The Cisco business model of outsourcing their manufacturers helped to give the manufacturing specs to Chinese counterfeiters. There are Network managers and owners who want to build or enhance their Networks with Enterprise class equipment, while working within tight budgets. So, when the network managers can save their company (or themselves) some money and aid their tight IT budgets, they may buy some counterfeited parts, without knowing better.
Cost conscious network managers have a couple better ways to save money while building enterprise class networks. They can purchase used/refurbished equipment form reputable Network Equipment dealers such as our company – Alliance Datacom – call me direct at 828-277-7272. We also do board level repair of Cisco equipment. Secondly Network Managers can look to good alternatives of higher quality, better supported and lower priced equipment by such companies as ADTRAN, EXTREME, JUNIPER, ASTARO, HP-PROCURVE. For instance ADTRAN routers and switches come with 5 year warranty and are priced much lower. Contact me to explore the savings on these alternatives -
trojan ends, a means to
I'm suspicious. Huawei, division of the PLA, sworn CISCO haters, working for the motherland, CEO Ren carrying his Little Red Book (tis a fact!), could be the kernel inside of the system. This equipment could be Trojanized in unknown, difficult to reveal ways. They salt the market with it through willing occidental laundrymen, and see what they catch, ports-wise. If this stuff turns out to be quality, reliable gear, I'd be ten times as suspicious. Now hurry, hook up some racks of this stuff and listen for out-of-bounds traffic.