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Retailer Found Guilty of Selling Counterfeit Cubans

northernmoris

northernmoris

FFOX Whore
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
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This was posted today:




"A cigar retailer from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has been sentenced to nearly one year in jail for selling counterfeit cigars.

James David Joiner, 65, who was named in a February 2006 raid on Smoke Café in Fort Lauderdale, where thousands of dollars’ worth of fake cigars were seized, was found guilty of violating the U.S. trademarks for Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and Trinidad cigars.

He was remanded into custody, then sentenced on October 6 to 364 days in Broward County Jail in Florida and five years’ probation by Judge Mily Rodriguez-Powell of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, Broward County.

“He sold fakes purporting to be Cuban,” said Janelle Rosenfeld, a vice president at Altadis U.S.A. Inc., which owns the U.S. trademarks to Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann and other cigars.

Rosenfeld said Joiner was the owner of Smoke Café. “Any product using our trademark and not made by us is a trademark violation regardless of country of origin. It is the first retail tobacconist for which we are aware who has been found guilty and sentenced for selling counterfeit cigars,” said Rosenfeld. "
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There's a lot of 'reading' to be done on this fellow. I think he's on The List?!
 
I wonder if this guy was a customer of Vitasea and his partner, who recently ran their smuggling boat aground off the Florida coast?

More info here: Dumbasses

Vitasea used to try to sell us fakes here at CP.

JK
 
MoeCizlak said:
Well, at least the guy didn't get a whole year in jail. :rolleyes:
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I believe that actually has to do with shortening the sentence for good behavior. At a year or more (I think), they can get time off for good behavior, any less and they have to serve it out. I remember reading something about it when someone was sentenced to a year and a day.
 
The way I read it is that he sold cigars, which violated the US Trademarks for Monte, Upmann, etc etc. Cuban cigars, when sold in the USA, would violate these trademarks. So would counterfeit cubans. There is no text in the article that states he was sentenced for selling counterfeit cubans, just that he "sold fakes purporting to be cuban", as described by the Altadis VP - which is a weaselly way of saying that they might be cuban, they might not be cuban, but anything not made by Altadis is a "fake", QED.
 
JimK said:
I wonder if this guy was a customer of Vitasea and his partner, who recently ran their smuggling boat aground off the Florida coast?

More info here: Dumbasses

Vitasea used to try to sell us fakes here at CP.

JK
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HMMMM......good question "A 53-foot sloop, “Vitamin Sea,” was returning from Havana carrying 361 Cuban cigars and Cuban cigarettes."
 
tomthirtysix said:
MoeCizlak said:
Well, at least the guy didn't get a whole year in jail. :rolleyes:
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I believe that actually has to do with shortening the sentence for good behavior. At a year or more (I think), they can get time off for good behavior, any less and they have to serve it out. I remember reading something about it when someone was sentenced to a year and a day.
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Yes, you are correct Tom. If you get a year and a day, you can receive 54 days a year of good time in the Feds. His sentence will not allow him to receive any good time at all.
 
tomthirtysix said:
MoeCizlak said:
Well, at least the guy didn't get a whole year in jail. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

I believe that actually has to do with shortening the sentence for good behavior. At a year or more (I think), they can get time off for good behavior, any less and they have to serve it out. I remember reading something about it when someone was sentenced to a year and a day.
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Interesting. Meaning, if he got 18 months, he may get out in 9. This way he serves the year.

Brian
 
Right, I am confused
Did he sell fake cuban cigars so he is in trouble for selling cuban cigars
Did he sell fake cuban cigars, so he is in trouble for violating their trademarks regardless of their origin
Or did he sell fake cuban cigars, so he is doubly in trouble.





Reminds me of Seinfeld "Why would Jerry bring anything?" shtick
 
There was no mention of customs or the embargo in the article. He was convited of counterfeiting, he sold fake cuban cigars, so he is in trouble for violating their trademarks regardless of their origin.
 
rbbrock said:
There was no mention of customs or the embargo in the article. He was convited of counterfeiting, he sold fake cuban cigars, so he is in trouble for violating their trademarks regardless of their origin.
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Correct, the reference to the boat and such was about a knucklehead who used to post here and got caught smuggling, Jim was just wondering if the retailer jailed for trademark violations ever purchased from aforesaid knucklehead. :laugh:
 
golfgar said:
rbbrock said:
There was no mention of customs or the embargo in the article. He was convited of counterfeiting, he sold fake cuban cigars, so he is in trouble for violating their trademarks regardless of their origin.
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Correct, the reference to the boat and such was about a knucklehead who used to post here and got caught smuggling, Jim was just wondering if the retailer jailed for trademark violations ever purchased from aforesaid knucklehead. :laugh:
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G/B?
 
Pompous Pugs said:
Right, I am confused
Did he sell fake cuban cigars so he is in trouble for selling cuban cigars
Did he sell fake cuban cigars, so he is in trouble for violating their trademarks regardless of their origin
Or did he sell fake cuban cigars, so he is doubly in trouble.
Click to expand...

I'm not entirely clear on all this, but from what I garner when Castro came into power the government claimed ownership of everything. Many cigar manufacturers fled Cuba and started up shop elsewhere. They maintained the same business names as when they existed in Cuba, hence now we have Cuban Montecristos, Punch, HdM ... and non-cuban equivalents. Cuba kept many of the fled factories in production and continued to use the same business names. The new businesses over time registered their business namebrand and product trademarks, as did Cuba. However, the US does not recognize the authority of the trademarks of Cuba, so there was no conflict for the new business' trademark registrations.

"Fake" Cubans would be imposing on the US trademarks held by Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, etc. and would be punishable by the courts of the US. Real Cubans probably wouldn't be, but might be, considered imposing on the US trademarks, however that point would probably be waived in court since the more strict punishment would be to inforce the embargo violations. Even if they were real, the defendant would probably claim they were fake.

Vitasea on the other hand was just being stupid ... I guess there's no more Behikes for MattR. LOL.
 
The two 'perps' are not related.

Vitasea was caught with Cuban product.

The other guy was selling fake items.
 
If the cigars Vitasea was slinging around CP were representative of what was on his boat, he definitely was not caught with Cuban cigars. :laugh:

JK

grateful1 said:
The two 'perps' are not related.

Vitasea was caught with Cuban product.

The other guy was selling fake items.
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I remember when this went down. It was the talk in all of the cigar shops in town. The funny part, they didn't try to even hide it.. They felt invincible selling them. I went by the shop back in 04, it was no secret they had them.

I forgot to mention. It wasn't just fake cubans.. They also had fake Altadis and General Cigar brands as well.
 
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