Carrollton man sentenced for selling counterfeit cell phone accessories

Written by Phil Cerroni

A 54-year-old Carrollton man has been sentenced to federal prison for a counterfeiting conspiracy in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales on Jan. 29.

Shiraz Sherali Odhwani pleaded guilty on Sep. 9, 2011, to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Michael H. Schneider. Odhwani was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $950,000.

According to information presented in court, Odhwani owns and operates a company known as Turtle Wireless, a wholesale outlet and retail point of sale for cellular telephones and wireless device accessories located in Dallas. In or about 2008, Turtle Wireless began selling counterfeit cellular telephone accessories purchased from suppliers in China. Through Turtle Wireless, Odhwani then sold the counterfeit products to retailers within the Eastern District of Texas and elsewhere. In connection with this case, law enforcement officials seized more than 130,000 counterfeit items from Odhwani’s store and leased storage space. The infringement amount of that counterfeit merchandise was estimated at between $2.5 million and $7 million. Odhwani and three others were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2011.

Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation