A 23-year-old man suspected of advertising and selling counterfeit luxury merchandise through social media platforms was arrested Friday.
Deputies assigned to the Southern Coachella Valley Community Service District Team at the Thermal Sheriff’s Station started an investigation into the sale of fraudulent merchandise in the Coachella Valley beginning in April, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
With assistance from Rural Crimes Team personnel, deputies executed a search warrant at a home in the 40500 block of Alabama Hills Drive on Friday, where 293 pieces of counterfeit luxury items were discovered, including shoes, handbags, wallets, perfumes, and clothing that were branded with various high-end labels, sheriff’s officials said.
Investigators determined the approximate value of items recovered was $15,000 and identified Noel Angel Diaz as the suspect.
Diaz was arrested and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center on suspicion of internationally selling and knowingly possessing counterfeit trademark-registered items for sale.
Anyone with information regarding the investigation was urged to call Deputy John Uselton of Thermal Sheriff’s Station at 760-863-2732.