Two Rapid City residents have been ordered to forfeit about $300,000 in bank accounts and other items in a trademark violation case. 34-year-old Ravaye Meltzer and 29-year-old Bar Braver will also serve one year’s probation.
The pair pleaded guilty last summer to federal charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. A third defendant, 54-year-old Nir Giist of Florida, pleaded guilty to similar charges in January and is awaiting sentencing.
Prosecutors say corporations run by Meltzer, Braver, and Giist sold legitimate and counterfeit goods…T-shirts, caps and other items…at stores and other locations around Rapid City, Keystone, Deadwood, Hill City and Sturgis between February 2010 and August 2011.
Among the trademarks knocked-off were The North Face, Hollister, Monster Energy, American Eagle, Ed Hardy and Angry Birds.