Cranston Police Seize Evidence and Make Arrest for Possession, Sale of Counterfeit Merchandise

Tuesday afternoon, members of the Cranston Police Department’s Detective Division served an arrest and search warrant at “Litt Fashions”, located at 633 Park Avenue. The owner of the business, Wade E. Brown (37 years of age), was taken into custody in connection with the possession and sale of counterfeit merchandise.

During the month of February 2017, members of the Cranston Police Department’s Special Victims Unit investigated information regarding the sale of counterfeit merchandise from the Park Avenue location. Detectives were able to learn that Mr. Brown (aka “Jimmy Dean” and “DJBiggBizz”) was selling quantities of counterfeit merchandise from inside of his store where the goods were hung throughout in plain view openly displayed for sale. Detectives were also able to observe Mr. Brown selling the counterfeit items at a flea market.

The Cranston Police Department was assisted by Power & Associates – Intellectual Property Investigators – who responded to the location of the warrant service and were able to identify the merchandise as being counterfeit trademarked merchandise. Seized counterfeit items included many highly recognizable counterfeit brands: Nike, Polo, North Face, Louis Vuitton, Prada, various pro sports, Coach, Beats, and Ray Ban, among others.
It is estimated that if the items seized were authentic and sold in the legitimate market place, the total value would be approximately $20,000.
After his arrest, Mr. Brown was arraigned at Cranston Police Headquarters by a bail commissioner on charges of Forgery, Counterfeiting, or Alteration of Trademark, Service mark, or Identification mark. He was released to appear on $5000.00 personal recognizance at the 3rd District Court.