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Man Accused Of Selling Knock-Off Merchandise

DENVER (CBS4)- A man accused of illegally selling knock-off purses and other merchandise for years has been indicted by a Denver Grand Jury for trademark counterfeiting and tax crimes.

The indictment was unsealed on Monday and is the result of work by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations and the Denver Police Department and the Denver District Attorney's Office.

Randy Lynn Hastings has been charged with two counts of tax violation, two counts of tax evasion and five counts of trademark counterfeiting.

The indictment alleges that between Jan. 1, 2013 and Nov. 4 of this year, Hastings, 59, promoted himself as "Randy The Purse Guy" and sold counterfeit merchandise including purses, wallets, watches and sunglasses. He also failed to collect and pay taxes.

In 2008, Hastings was the target of an undercover Homeland Security Investigation that resulted in the seizure of hundreds of items of counterfeit merchandise. In 2010, Hastings was arrested in Lone Tree for trademark counterfeiting and was given a deferred judgment in that case.

"Selling counterfeit merchandise is not a victimless crime," said David A. Thompson, special agent in charge of HSI Denver. "Counterfeits steal jobs from Americans, they support organized crime, and they produce tainted or substandard merchandise — some of which may be harmful to the consumer."

The local investigation began in July 2014 when the manager of the Louis Vuitton store in Cherry Creek notified Denver Police that counterfeit Vuitton merchandise was being sold out of a van at University Boulevard and 2nd Avenue. The investigation was taken into the Grand Jury in May that resulted in the indictment.

Hastings left Colorado earlier this year and was located in the Minneapolis area last week. He was taken into custody by HSI agents.

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