MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office has arrested a couple who they said have been selling counterfeit merchandise from various brands, such as Adidas, Nike and Puma.
According to an arrest report for Silvia Marila Urgilez-Guartan, 39, of Miami, a deputy first spotted a business, located at 1834 NW 20th St., on June 30 with mannequins on display in front of the business, displaying soccer apparel in front of the store.
The deputy questioned the legitimacy of the products as there was no signage for the business and the only sign visible was an illuminated “open sign” on the front window of the store.
Authorities said the deputy looked up the business address and saw that a company named Silvia Soccer Liga Sport LLC. was operating out of that location.
“Further research revealed that the business was selling brand name apparel for one fourth or less of the normal retail value,” the arrest report stated.
According to the report, most of the apparel being sold was branded as Adidas. A representative from the company was requested to investigate the legitimacy of the merchandise and confirmed that the items were unlicensed and counterfeit, the report stated.
Deputies said the investigation revealed that Urgilez-Guartan was the owner of the business and also owned another soccer apparel store, located at 840 W. Flagler St.
The Adidas representative confirmed merchandise from that store was also counterfeit, the report stated.
According to the report, a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent was contacted and he discovered that most of the deliveries going to the business locations were in the name of Julio Pillacela.
That information led detectives to discover a third soccer apparel business named Soccer Liga Miami Inc.
Sunbiz.org lists Julio Olmedo Pillacela Sanchez, 40, as the president of the company and Urgilez-Guartan as the vice president.
According to the suspects’ arrest reports, detectives responded to the Northwest 20th Street location on July 9 and found Pillacela Sanchez’s brother, Ignacio Pillacela, inside the store.
Ignacio Pillacela told detectives he was just an employee at the store and confirmed that his brother and sister-in-law, Urgilez-Guartan, were the owners, the reports stated.
Authorities said the man then contacted the couple and requested that they come to the business as detectives inspected the merchandise.
Urgilez-Guartan first claimed to be too ill to come, then said she was more than three hours away and could not respond to the store and finally “straight out refused to respond to the store,” her arrest report said.
Julio Pillacela Sanchez, meanwhile, simply hung up the phone on his brother when he found out detectives were there and then wouldn’t answer any other calls, his arrest report stated.
According to the reports, when detectives responded to the second location on Flagler Street, the store had been abandoned, with the mannequins still out in front, unsecured.
Detectives said the total retail value for the items seized during their investigation was $534,295, and included various items such as soccer sets, caps and baby onesies.
According to the arrest reports, Urgilez-Guartan was arrested Aug. 5 and Julio Pillacela Sanchez was taken into custody Monday. They both face charges of selling counterfeit goods worth $20,000 or more.
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