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One of three men accused of importing and selling made-in-China, counterfeit Manti Teo NFL jerseys pleaded guilty to conspiracy Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Arnold A. Cariaga, 41, faces a maximum five-year prison term at sentencing in October. He also might have to pay approximately $30,000 in restitution to an alliance of collegiate and professional sports licensing organizations, of which NFL Properties is a member.
Cariaga admitted in court Wednesday that he agreed with Greg M. Hayama, owner and operator of sports memorabilia retailer Pride of Hawaii Sports, to smuggle into the country and traffic counterfeit goods. A December indictment accuses Cariaga, Hayama and an unnamed, uncharged co-conspirator with smuggling and trafficking counterfeits of jerseys and logos licensed by the NFL, some NFL teams and colleges, Adidas and Nike.
Hayama is scheduled to stand trial in August.
State records show that Hayama registered Pride of Hawaii Sports in February 2009. The registration expired in 2014.
According to the indictment, Hayama complained in an email to his supplier that a June 2013 shipment of Manti Teo San Diego Chargers light blue jerseys “rip apart from the bottom of the arm (p)it to the bottom of the jersey, stitching is too thin and material rips from stitching!” In response, the supplier promised to absorb Hayama’s loss for the ripped jerseys, the indictment says.
As part of his plea agreement, Cariaga has been cooperating with the government and has provided information that will result in charges against another individual, federal prosecutor Marshall Silverberg told U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi.