LOS ANGELES - U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in California have confiscated over 3,000 counterfeit Gibson guitars, which would have been worth more than $18 million if they had been genuine.
Investigators intercepted the fake guitars while they were being shipped in ocean containers from Asia to the LA/Long Beach Seaport.
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Gibson confirmed that the guitars were indeed counterfeit, noting that authentic Gibson guitars are made in the U.S.A.
"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," said Cheryl M. Davies, CBP Director of Field Operations in Los Angeles, 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."
"We are grateful for the hard work that our U.S. CBP officers, HSI special agents, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department investigators are doing to stop counterfeiting," added Cesar Gueikian, CEO of Gibson, in a statement on Tuesday. "Our partnership is designed to help every agency work together to protect consumers and our fans from being misled into counterfeits."
"This is really emotional and personal for us not only because of the protection of our players, but because of our Gibson team at large, including the artisans at our craftories in Nashville, TN and Bozeman, MT, who are generations of American families that have dedicated their entire lives to handcrafting Gibson instruments," added Beth Heidt, Chief Marketing Officer at Gibson. "As Gibson celebrates its 130th anniversary this year, we are proud of our legacy of quality and craftsmanship, legendary music partnerships with our artists, and our efforts to promote and create more musicians that continue to shape the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across every genre."