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In a significant crackdown on counterfeit merchandise, CBP officers in Rochester, New York, have recently seized a collection of counterfeit items valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Among the seized items were counterfeit Victor Wembanyama rookie cards, intended to mimic the 2023-24 Prizm base cards produced by Panini.

The seizure occurred at the Rochester Point of Entry, where CBP officers conducted inspections on several shipments. These shipments contained a wide array of items including designer clothing, shoes, handbags, watches, Airpods, and NBA branded rookie cards. It was during these inspections that the officers discovered 29 fake Wembanyama cards.

These counterfeit cards bore the Panini trademarks, which had been illegally replicated. The Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising division of the CBP confirmed the cards as counterfeit. However, details regarding the origin of these cards or the intended recipients have not been disclosed by the CPB.

The sports collectibles market, especially for trading cards, is a high-stakes industry where rookie cards of popular players like Wembanyama can fetch significant sums. The presence of counterfeit cards is particularly alarming given the volume of sales on platforms such as eBay, where over 52,000 Wembanyama Prizm cards, amounting to more than $8 million, have been sold since the release of the product.

According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), counterfeit goods not only violate intellectual property rights but are also often linked to other criminal activities on an international scale. Counterfeit sports cards, although less frequently publicized compared to other counterfeit items like team jerseys or championship rings, pose a serious threat to the integrity of the sports collecting world.

CBP has the authority to detain, seize, forfeit, and destroy merchandise that infringes on trademarks or copyrights registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office or the United States Copyright Office, provided these trademarks or copyrights have been recorded with CBP through the e-Recordation program. This action underscores the ongoing efforts by U.S. authorities to combat the influx of counterfeit goods into the country.