A Long Island area boutique owner has been charged with trademark counterfeiting in connection with millions of dollars of fakes.
31-year-old Lindsay Castelli was charged following an 18-month investigation involving multiple agencies, CBS New York reported this week. Castelli, according to a press release from the Nassau County Police Department, was the “sole owner” of Linny’s Boutique in Plainview.
Castelli was arrested last week and is being charged with second-degree trademark counterfeiting, police said. She’s next set to appear in court on Nov. 2. Meanwhile, social media pages for the shop, which is now closed, appear to have been removed.
Inside the shop, it’s alleged by law enforcement that “thousands” of heat-sealed fake labels were discovered. During the execution of a subsequent search warrant, investigators say they found and seized a total of 22 printing press machines, as well as numerous counterfeit pieces posing as items from familiar high-dollar names including Gucci, Prada, Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and more.
“The combined value of the items was over $40,000,000,” a local police rep said in a press release issued on Tuesday, adding that additional investigation resulted in the realization that the fake items were also allegedly being shipped to locations around the country.
“This was a sophisticated operation,” Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said of the case, the multi-agency response behind which was known as “Operation Rainfall.” The initial investigation into the alleged counterfeit operation, police said this week, took place in April of last year.
