Ebay Seller Pleads Guilty

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This is a press release

EBay seller, Warren Fondrie, formerly of Vass, NC, plead guilty in Moore County (N.C.) Superior Court on April 14, to 12 counts of selling counterfeit golf equipment. Fondrie was charged with criminal use of counterfeit trademarks by North Carolina Secretary of State Trademark Enforcement Division following an investigation that state officials said uncovered a major product counterfeiting operation headquartered in Moore County. Fondrie was one of three defendants charged in December 2007 after Acushnet Company initiated an investigation with the North Carolina Secretary of State's Office. The cases against, Donald Fondrie, is still pending. The third defendant, Pei-i Chou, a Taiwanese, is presently in the custody of immigration authorities and is expected to be deported back to Taiwan.

Acushnet Company, which is comprised of the Titleist, FootJoy and Cobra golf equipment brands, played an integral part in the arrests by alerting and working with the North Carolina authorities.

"We are pleased with the outcome of this case. Warren Fondrie sold counterfeit golf product to unsuspecting consumers on eBay. He has now been ordered to pay a substantial amount in restitution, and could face jail time if that restitution is not paid," said Lisa Rogan, Acushnet Company trademark manager. "Acushnet is pleased with the outcome of this case, and it should send a strong message to those who participate in this type of illegal activity, that we will take the appropriate action to shut down these types of operations."

In this case, Acushnet observed counterfeit golf products being sold on eBay conducted an internal investigation prior to presenting the matter to the N.C. Secretary of State's Office. A two-month investigation resulted in allegations that the Fondrie's operated an Internet-based site that sold fake brand-name golfing gear imported from Asia. The product was then sold both domestically and internationally on a "store site" on eBay, the large on-line auction company. Postal authorities monitored shipping traffic connected to the case, while law enforcement used eBay records to track sales. Thousands of fake golf products were seized, including counterfeit Titleist, Cobra and Scotty Cameron products, among other brands.

Warren Fondrie was sentenced to 60 to 80 months in prison. Fondrie will not have to serve the time, however, if he complies with all the terms of his probation, which includes paying restitution of more than $253,338 to the victims. If he fails to comply, his probation will be revoked and he could go to prison as a result.
 
Great news! Hopefully word of this judgement spreads throughout the eBay community and less and less of these kinds of sellers will continue to peddle their 'wares'
 
i wish they would say what his seller name was... and meanwhile, there are still HUNDREDS if not thousands of counterfeit clubs being sold on ebay at this very minute.
 
Never trust anyone named Warren
 
sentenced to 60-80 months in prison yet doesn't have to serve a single day behind bars. gotta love our justice system...
 
while we are on the topic of ebay sellers, anybody know anything about a seller named timtheputterman? he has a huge store full of new and used in really good shape golf clubs. most of which are callaway, and it seems like they are the most being faked lately so i was just wondering if anbody has some info on this guy
 
sentenced to 60-80 months in prison yet doesn't have to serve a single day behind bars. gotta love our justice system...

Seriously, whats the point of even putting them through a trial.
 
That is a pretty dramatic suspension. The idea is that the judge doesn't want to see the guy serve time for a financial crime, and impair his ability to make restitution according to the payment schedule set by probation, but if he gets arrested for anything, or fails any of the conditions of release (bad drug test, failure to pay restitution, anything not straight-and-narrow) the judge can dole out as much of that huge sentence hanging over the dude's head as he likes. So essentially, the guy has every reason to fly right from here on out. That said, usually the judge in a case like this will at least give him a taste of the inside to solidify the message before letting him out with the rest suspended. Although it's not unusual to give someone 0 time in jail with all of it suspended, but in my experience it usually involves much less time than he was facing.

Edit: note also that there wasn't a trial here -- it was a plea. That likely also influenced the judge's decision not to impose any actual period of imprisonment up front.
 
That is a pretty dramatic suspension. The idea is that the judge doesn't want to see the guy serve time for a financial crime, and impair his ability to make restitution according to the payment schedule set by probation, but if he gets arrested for anything, or fails any of the conditions of release (bad drug test, failure to pay restitution, anything not straight-and-narrow) the judge can dole out as much of that huge sentence hanging over the dude's head as he likes. So essentially, the guy has every reason to fly right from here on out. That said, usually the judge in a case like this will at least give him a taste of the inside to solidify the message before letting him out with the rest suspended. Although it's not unusual to give someone 0 time in jail with all of it suspended, but in my experience it usually involves much less time than he was facing.

Edit: note also that there wasn't a trial here -- it was a plea. That likely also influenced the judge's decision not to impose any actual period of imprisonment up front.

And it didn't mention, but maybe there was some credit for time-served? Considering his ties to foreign countries, wouldn't it be unlikely that bail was allowed?

Oh, and their photos are in this article:
http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2150239/

(Photos are flash, so I couldn't embed them.)

EDIT: And from this article (more detailed), it looks like the eBay name was "golfdesigns77":
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071210/NEWS/71210125
 
So here's an ethical dilemma...the last two items I ordered off of ebay were counterfeit. Both times the person refunded my payment. Do you folks feel I should still report them to the authorities? Should I return the clubs?
 
while we are on the topic of ebay sellers, anybody know anything about a seller named timtheputterman? he has a huge store full of new and used in really good shape golf clubs. most of which are callaway, and it seems like they are the most being faked lately so i was just wondering if anbody has some info on this guy

timtheputterman is 100% legit. ive bought from him several times and i know several that also have bought from.
 
So here's an ethical dilemma...the last two items I ordered off of ebay were counterfeit. Both times the person refunded my payment. Do you folks feel I should still report them to the authorities? Should I return the clubs?

geez! who are you buying from and what did you buy???
if he already refunded your money and you still have the club, why send it back to him so he can just sell it to someone else? i would report it to ebay. maybe they will do something (doubtful). and id call the company (Titleist? Callway?) or whoever SUPPOSEDLY made the club and let them know about it.
who was the seller you bought from? was he in China? was it for a Cameron putter or a TaylorMade or Callaway driver?
 
timtheputterman is 100% legit. ive bought from him several times and i know several that also have bought from.

thank you. and he sells completely legit stuff?
 
while we are on the topic of ebay sellers, anybody know anything about a seller named timtheputterman? he has a huge store full of new and used in really good shape golf clubs. most of which are callaway, and it seems like they are the most being faked lately so i was just wondering if anbody has some info on this guy

He's legit. bought numerous stuff from him.
 
thanks guys. sorry to kind of jack the thread but that helps alot
 
geez! who are you buying from and what did you buy???
if he already refunded your money and you still have the club, why send it back to him so he can just sell it to someone else? i would report it to ebay. maybe they will do something (doubtful). and id call the company (Titleist? Callway?) or whoever SUPPOSEDLY made the club and let them know about it.
who was the seller you bought from? was he in China? was it for a Cameron putter or a TaylorMade or Callaway driver?

Both sellers were from the US but I received both packages from China. One was an R9 and the other a Mizuno driver. They both has "real" photos but as soon as I saw the headcovers, I knew they were fakes... Also. in both cases, the shafts was completely different than what I purchased. In the R9, it was supposed to be an HD6 but arrived with a stock shaft.
 
you sould post the sellers name here so nobody else buys from them
 
timtheputterman is 100% legit. ive bought from him several times and i know several that also have bought from.

Same experience here. :clapp:
 
i might be buying an ft hybrid from him shortly. sounds good that he is a great guy to deal with
 
i might be buying an ft hybrid from him shortly. sounds good that he is a great guy to deal with

dang, i just sold 2 of my FT hybrids. a #3 and a #4. which ones are you looking for?
 
i might be buying an ft hybrid from him shortly. sounds good that he is a great guy to deal with

did you check callaway preowned? at least you know its the real deal that way.
 
Iron Set

Iron Set

Has anyone ordered an iron set from timtheputterman? And if so how could you verify that it was authentic?
 
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