SourcingOct 27, 2026
De Beers Celebrates the Holidays With New ‘Desert Diamonds’ CampaignThe “Icons” holiday campaign spotlights four classic diamond jewelry styles reimagined in “Desert Diamond” tones.
TechnologyNov 13, 2020
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.
The retail giant is cracking down on counterfeit goods, filing a lawsuit against more than a dozen defendants accused of false advertising and selling fake luxury items.
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
cracked down on dupes … now they’re [sic] are barely any [dupes on Amazon],” said Fitzpatrick, as per Amazon’s press release. “Our very trusted seller of the last year has moved to DH Gate … I know it’s a big change to switch from Amazon to DH Gate but this guarantees that the links do not get reported and shut down sometimes cancelling our orders.”
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.
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.
More on Technology
The Latest
IndependentsOct 27, 2026
Solomon Brothers Acquires Mervis Diamond ImportersSolomon Brothers, which has three stores in the Metro Atlanta area, said it may continue to acquire other independent jewelers.
IndependentsOct 27, 2026
Gabriel & Co. Supports Charity Partner DKMS With Gala, New JewelsThe fine jewelry brand raised $2.3 million at its annual gala that supports the nonprofit’s fight against blood cancer and blood disorders.
Brought to you by
A Diamond Is Forever Launches 2026 Holiday Campaign Championing Natural DiamondsA Diamond Is Forever's holiday campaign reimagines natural diamond icons for a new generation celebrating individuality.
Events & AwardsOct 27, 2026
JFC Announces 2027 ‘Facets’ HonoreesThe annual fundraising event is slated for June 6, 2027, at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.
Weekly QuizOct 22, 2026
This Week’s QuizTest your jewelry news knowledge by answering these questions.
CollectionsOct 26, 2026
Bliss Lau’s ‘Vantage’ Point Is the Hawaiian HorizonIn her “Vantage” collection, Lau explores heritage, identity, and inner strength through designs featuring blue-green Guatemalan jade.
MajorsOct 26, 2026
Tiffany & Co. Takes Consumers Behind the ScenesThe jeweler gave the public backstage tours of its flagship store and its design and innovation workshop as part of LVMH’s open house.
Brought to you by
Open an Account, Get $50 Off Your First Order. No Code Needed.Built on Relationships. Refined by Craft.
Events & AwardsOct 26, 2026
Support JFC’s ‘Monster Mash Challenge,’ If You DareVote for which jewelry professional should dress up as a monster to support Jewelers for Children’s annual Halloween fundraiser.
MajorsOct 23, 2026
PGI USA Set to Close at Year’s EndThe closure is part of a global restructuring that also includes PGI winding down its operations in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
SourcingOct 23, 2026
Rachel Chalchinsky’s ‘Survivor Tribute’ RingThe ring, our Piece of the Week, was designed by eight-year breast cancer survivor Rachel Chalchinsky of Color Source Gems.
FinancialsOct 23, 2026
Kering’s Jewelry Sales Up Double Digits in Q3Boucheron and Pomellato had a strong third quarter, with Kering looking at jewelry as an increasingly important part of its portfolio.
CrimeOct 22, 2026
Jeweler Shot and Killed in His Suburban Cincinnati Store Tara Sinchuri was the owner of Everest Jewels in Fairfield, Ohio, and a father of three. He was found dead in his store on Tuesday.
MajorsOct 22, 2026
Neiman Marcus Has Gifts for the Jewelry Lover Who Has EverythingBespoke experiences from Buccellati and Verdura are on the retailer’s 2026 “Fantasy Gifts” list.
Events & AwardsOct 22, 2026
JIS Fall 2026 Reports Record-Breaking Attendance The number of participants at the fall show was up 12 percent.
CollectionsOct 22, 2026
Billie Eilish, Finneas Co-Design Collection for John HardyThe Academy and Grammy award-winning siblings have collaborated with John Hardy on a new jewelry line inspired by their personal style.
PodcastsOct 21, 2026
Episode 10: This Episode Is Haunted Diana Singer shared the stories of two “cursed” diamonds on this month’s podcast, which was inexplicably riddled with technical issues.
IndependentsOct 21, 2026
Gardner-Collier Jewelry to Close After 9 Decades in BusinessThe family-owned jeweler has three locations across Missouri and Iowa.
SourcingOct 21, 2026
Venetia Mines Final Carats Ahead of 2-Year ShutdownThe De Beers-owned diamond mine in South Africa is being put on ice as part of a round of previously announced cost-cutting measures.
CollectionsOct 21, 2026
Helzberg, Nordstrom Carrying New Jewelry Collection From Off-WhiteThe collection centers designs with clean geometric lines, chunky sculptural pieces, and recognizable details from the luxury fashion brand.
SourcingOct 21, 2026
Gemfields’ Mixed-Quality Ruby Auction Earns $52MThe miner said it saw particularly strong prices for larger, fine-quality rubies at the sale.
CrimeOct 20, 2026
Security Guard Charged With Murder in Shooting at Texas MallThe guard opened fire on a man who was smashing a jewelry display case at La Gran Plaza in Fort Worth last week, police said.
IndependentsOct 20, 2026
David Gardner’s Jewelers Unveils Newly Expanded, Revamped ShowroomThe Texas jeweler added 2,000 square feet to its reimagined showroom, complete with a new design studio and an event space.
SourcingOct 20, 2026
The $50M Victoria’s Secret ‘Fantasy Bra’ By The NumbersJacob & Co.'s diamond masterpiece is the most expensive Fantasy Bra ever worn on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway.
CollectionsOct 20, 2026
Mignon Faget’s Collection Chooses Handmade Over AIThe “Atelier” collection was inspired by the tools, rituals, and objects in an artist’s studio as a quiet rebuttal to an automated world.
MajorsOct 19, 2026
The Knot to Acquire Rival Wedding Planning Platform ZolaThe pending acquisition is an “exciting opportunity” for wedding vendors to grow their business, said The Knot Worldwide’s CEO.
SourcingOct 19, 2026
Jewelry Design Competition Show Airs in Thailand"The Secret Gems" features eight Thai jewelry brands paired with a team of young craftspeople who create jewelry together to win challenges.
