Starboard Luxury is bringing the Italian brand aboard The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection’s newest yacht.
Amazon Files Lawsuit Against Influencers Allegedly Promoting Fakes
The retail giant is taking legal action against 13 defendants accused of false advertising and selling counterfeit products from Gucci, Dior, and other luxury brands.
Seattle—Amazon.com Inc is taking legal action against more than a dozen sellers of alleged counterfeit products, including two influencers.
The retail giant filed a lawsuit against 13 individuals and businesses for advertising, promoting, and facilitating the sale of counterfeit luxury goods in Amazon’s store, in violation of its company policies and the law.
Filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, the suit alleges that defendants and influencers Kelly Fitzpatrick and Sabrina Kelly-Krejci worked with sellers to promote counterfeit goods on their Instagram and TikTok accounts and their websites.
They would post side-by-side photos of a generic, non-branded product and a luxury counterfeit product with the message “Order this/Get this.”
The process worked like a hidden link, explained Fitzpatrick to her followers in a social media post shared in Amazon’s court filing.
“You order a certain product that looks nothing like the designer dupe in order to hide the item from getting taken down [by Amazon] and orders being cancelled.”
To evade anti-counterfeit protections, Amazon said the two would only post the generic item for sale, but then promote the counterfeit items on their social media accounts.
Customers would place an order for this generic product but receive a counterfeit luxury product instead.
Fitzpatrick and Kelly-Krejci also allegedly posted numerous videos describing the high quality of the fake goods, Amazon said.
“These defendants were brazen about promoting counterfeits on social media and undermined the work of legitimate influencers,” said Cristina Posa, associate general counsel and director, Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit, in a press release.
Amazon opened its Counterfeit Crimes Unit division in June, assembling a team that specializes in investigating and bringing legal action against bad actors.
Posa said this case demonstrated “the need for cross-industry collaboration in order to drive counterfeiters out of business.”
Amazon is investing resources to stop counterfeit goods from ever getting to the site, Posa said, adding that social media sites also need to monitor accounts that use their services for illegal purposes.
Fitzpatrick was previously a member of the Amazon Influencer Program, which lets members advertise and link to Amazon products in exchange for a percentage of the sales. She was removed when Amazon detected alleged counterfeiting.
She continued to advertise the fake goods, Amazon said, directing followers to her website. Amazon detected similar behavior from Kelly-Krejci.
“[N]ow as most of you know Amazon [sic] has really
DH Gate is a wholesale e-commerce platform based in China.
“Fitzpatrick’s ability to move her counterfeiting from one e-commerce site to another shows how pernicious her activity really is, and how she is only likely to be stopped by way of the requested court order,” said Amazon in a court filing.
Instagram took down her account on July 27, per a court filing, but Fitzpatrick opened a new account on July 31 and allegedly continued to promote counterfeit goods.
When that account was also taken down on Aug. 10, she created a new one the next day and launched her own website.
She also allegedly promoted the sale of counterfeit goods on Etsy.
An investigator retained by Amazon made several test purchases, receiving counterfeit belts, bags, wallets, and sunglasses claiming to be from Gucci, as well as a purse and bracelet from Dior.
Amazon repeated the process with Kelly-Krejci, monitoring her social media accounts and websites as she allegedly promoted counterfeit goods. Test orders were placed for handbags said to be from Gucci and Dior.
Upon receiving counterfeit products, the accounts that sent the merchandise were shut down.
The influencers’ current websites and social media accounts appear to have been taken down as of Friday morning.
Amazon said it “strictly prohibits counterfeit products in its stores, and in 2019 alone, invested more than $500 million to protect customers and brands from fraud, abuse, and counterfeit.”
The company is seeking an injunction against Fitzpatrick, Kelly-Krejci and the connected parties as well as profits from counterfeit Amazon sales and attorneys’ fees and costs in filing the lawsuit. The total amount was undisclosed.
Amazon has filed several lawsuits against counterfeiters, including a joint lawsuit with Italian luxury fashion brand Valentino, cosmetics retailer KF Beauty, and JL Childress, a seller of travel products for parents.
The Latest
The pendant, circa the late 1700s, likely was commissioned to remember a loved one who died young.
It features the brand’s products in the precious color, semi-precious color, pearl, diamond, gold, and sterling silver categories.
From protecting customer data to safeguarding inventory records, it's crucial to learn how to tackle cybersecurity challenges.
For her annual Halloween story, Associate Editor Lenore Fedow pairs fine jewelry with classic and contemporary Halloween costumes.
Sales fell 15 percent for the luxury conglomerate in the third quarter, led by a 26 percent drop in sales for flagship brand Gucci.
The education offerings include a diamond cutting demonstration, a session with JVC President Sara Yood, and a seminar on AI.
This fall, sharpen your skills in jewelry grading, quality control and diamond assessment.
The book features new styles and revived favorites.
Aimed at a generation that emphasizes self-care and mental health, “Worth the Wait” breaks new ground in the world of diamond advertising.
Editor Lauren McLemore immersed herself in New York Bridal Fashion Week to better understand the role fine jewelry plays on the big day.
The jeweler shared her change of heart on lab-grown diamonds and why she keeps them separate from natural diamonds in her business ventures.
The New York-based brand is expanding outside of the U.S., with a pop-up shop in London and plans to distribute internationally.
They’re available through a retailer that sells luxury products inspired by the lifestyle of Batman’s billionaire civilian persona.
The watchmaker is selling 1,000 “Waterbury” watches for $1 each in celebration of its 170th anniversary.
Launched by De Beers in 2018, the program aims to develop a responsible sourcing model for the artisanal/small-scale diamond mining sector.
The new “Ouche” collection brings sculptural designs to the brand, while the expanded “Daystar” collection brings a rainbow of colors.
The auction house said the gemstone could fetch up to $5.5 million at next month’s sale.
From prioritizing the customer experience to optimizing inventory, columnist Emmanuel Raheb shares the keys to a successful holiday season.
Journalist Priya Raj plans to use the scholarship funds to further her media qualifications and amplify marginalized communities.
It marks the first championship win in the team’s 28-year history.
The Arkansas-based jeweler’s first store in the state’s northwest region is set to open next year.
It will start with rough diamonds that are larger than 1.25 carats and later expand to rough diamonds that are above 1 carat.
The capsule collection is inspired by friendship and connection, with a nod to ‘80s fashion.
The New York socialite’s elegant, transformable piece from the 1960s is headed to auction later this month.
Texas jeweler Susan Eisen and NAJA’s Gail Brett Levine discuss how lab-grown diamonds have altered the landscape for jewelry appraisers.
On the verge of retirement, Kennedy recounts the most stressful stretch of his time at JSA and reveals what he’ll miss about the industry.