MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – Viktor Skorokhod, 32, of Burnaby, Canada, showed up to meet two potential buyers for a set of replica Rolex and Richard Millie luxury watches.
Unfortunately for Skorokhod, the meetup was with a Miami-Dade police detective and independent investigator hired by brands like Rolex to spot counterfeits.
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According to an arrest report, the independent investigator advised Miami-Dade police officers that Skorokhod was possibly selling fake Rolex watches through OfferUp, a popular app used to sell new and used items.
Working with the tip, Miami-Dade police Detective Jean Rivas and the independent investigator arranged an undercover meeting with Skorokhod around 4 p.m. Thursday in a North Miami Beach Target parking lot.
During the meetup, Skorokhod pulled out seven Rolex watches and one Richard Millie, telling the investigators they were “AAA copies,” detectives said.
According to Skorokhod, the watches were the closest thing to the original and indicated they were counterfeit, detectives said. Skorokhod was selling the seven Rolex watches for $200 apiece and a Richard Millie for $600.
Upon Skorokhod’s admission the watches were fake, Rivas gave a takedown signal and surrounding law enforcement personnel quickly moved into make an arrest,
The watches were recovered and Rivas noted in the arrest paperwork that the quality of the replica watches was indiscernible to an unsuspecting consumer.
According to the investigator, the watches would retail for $335,350 if they were real.