U.S. federal authorities seize 3,000 fake Gibson guitars: report

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) — Thousands of counterfeit Gibson electric guitars were seized at the Los Angeles-Long Beach Seaport, California, in what local and federal authorities described as the “largest counterfeit musical instrument seizure on record,” U.S. media reported.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers along with Homeland Security Investigations special agents and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives announced on Tuesday that they seized over 3,000 counterfeit Gibson electric guitars, according to a USA Today report.
Authorities said those counterfeits, had they been authentic, would have had a value of more than 18.7 million U.S. dollars.
“These fraudulent guitars may look and feel legitimate for unsuspecting consumers buying them from third party online sources, street markets, unauthorized retailers, and person-to-person transactions,” CBP Los Angeles Field Operations Director Cheryl M. Davies said in a statement.
“As we approach the busy holiday shopping season, consumers should pay attention on where they are buying these goods and how much they are paying, and if is too good to be true it probably is,” he added.
Gibson, Inc., Founded in 1894 and headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and professional audio equipment. ■