Kevin McPherson takes us to Sturgis, South Dakota (with stops in Daytona and Myrtle Beach) for the annual motorcycle rally and walks us through enforcement activities from his Harley Davidson days. “Wild” days indeed – he tells us of run-ins with a full spectrum of vendors and colorful characters hawking counterfeit Harley Davidson products. With the help of Homeland Security and Investigations, Kevin was able to seize thousands of products bearing the beloved brand’s trademarks, protecting the brand and consumers. Though a serious matter, these stories may, at certain times, make you laugh.

Former Department of Justice prosecutor John Zacharia takes us through a case involving counterfeit pet flea and tick medications. Medications which ended up at a major U.S. retailer infiltrating a legitimate supply chain. These products included counterfeit and gray market medications where the labels and packaging had been counterfeited with the intent to deceive others into believing that the product was authorized for sale in the U.S. Cooperation is the key in this Brand Protection Story episode and vital to protecting the health and safety of our beloved pets.

Wael Adhami and Roy Albiani, both with Johnson & Johnson’s Global Brand Protection team, take us through the startling discovery of a counterfeit implantable medical device – a widely used topical absorbable hemostat which controls bleeding during surgery. The genuine of this product, SURGICEL, is estimated to have been used in 150 million surgical procedures worldwide. Wael and Roy reveal the initial discovery, followed by the launching of global investigations, and coordinated pursuits of those responsible for the crime, which included involvement of a network of distributors and gray market sources. Wael and Roy then share how this case has changed how they each approach protection of the Johnson and Johnson family of brands.

Dave Lake, former Detective Sergeant for the Phoenix Police Department, who is also a businessman, recounts a story of a notorious counterfeiter of … coupons. The real facts prove as counter to a Hollywood comedy based on the case. As with many who enter the crime of counterfeiting, this criminal lived a lavish lifestyle but ended up ultimately paying the price. Though the true tragedy of this story is that the price will also be paid by U.S. consumers who can no longer rely on coupons to make ends meet.

Chris Horne, former Detective for the London Metropolitan Police tells the story of a notorious music bootlegger who flaunted his crime selling unauthorized recordings under such labels as Criminal Records, Wanted Man and Fugitive. Jailed in the U.S., he continued his criminal enterprise and was ultimately arrested and prosecuted also in the UK. This story reminds IP owners of the need to follow trends to continue to diligently protect their brands as the marketplace for legitimate and illicit goods continue to shift and evolve.

Undercover operative Bobby Sherman takes us through a counterfeit pharmaceutical story that crosses continents. The largest Class 1 recall of drugs in UK history. The fake therapeutic drugs, for cancer, high blood pressure, psychiatric disorders and other serious conditions, made it into the legitimate supply chain of healthcare facilities and pharmacies. By luring the counterfeiter to the U.S. through an appetite for luxury goods, Bobby secured the arrest and conviction of the manufacturer of the counterfeit drugs and obtained the crucial evidence for the conviction of the distributor in the United Kingdom Crown Court. Both criminals were sophisticated businessmen, living excessive, lavish lifestyles of greed without regard to the lives they put in jeopardy.

Ex FBI Case Agent Josh Mayers relays the story of a notorious trade secret theft case. The case took 7 years from discovery to conviction and spanned 3 continents. This theft was carried out by an insider, an employee acquired through a corporate acquisition, who was lured into stealing valuable software. The theft caused the company who owned those rights legitimately to lose billions of dollars and hundreds of jobs. This was the first time a Chinese corporation was convicted of a crime in the U.S. Courts. A word of caution should you be afraid of heights…if not, come climb a 280 foot wind turbine to investigate this IP crime.

The Los Angeles City Attorney’s office houses the unique “Intellectual Property Prosecution Section.” This section is responsible for prosecuting IP crimes both civilly and criminally for the second most populous city in the U.S. Deputy City Attorney Sasha Lazarevich handles all criminal prosecutions for this section. In this episode she walks us through two cases involving the L.A. toy district, in which sellers sold dangerous and hazardous counterfeit toys ultimately intended for children. Sasha explains the complexities of bringing these cases and her office’s dedication to keep its citizens safe through unique approaches in IP enforcement and prosecution.

Tobacco industry executive Hernan Albamonte takes us through the 2020 “Guerra Contraband Cigarettes” case – the largest seizure of tobacco products in U.S. history. Here he introduces us to a unique brand protection challenge, that of “illicit “whites” which are cigarettes that have no branding or are off-branded. Hernan also addresses other complications in enforcement caused by loopholes and the unintended issues with free trade zones; and finally Hernan answers why we should care about tobacco, speaking to the underground criminal networks that use high demand products as illegal currency to fund their operations.

Rod Kinghorn, a proud Spartan and icon in the brand protection world, takes us through “Operation Partsman” – the largest non-drug seizure in FBI history. The operation spanned three years and involved coast–to-coast investigations, including a sting operation in which the Feds set-up an auto parts business as a front. This operation successfully resulted in the removal of tens of thousands of dangerous counterfeit auto parts.