Maryland Man Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Importing and Selling Counterfeit Cisco Computer Networking Equipment

WASHINGTON Donald H. Cone, 48, of Frederick, Md., was sentenced today in Alexandria, Va., to 30 months in prison for his role in a sophisticated conspiracy to import and sell counterfeit Cisco-branded computer networking equipment. U.S. District Court Judge Gerald Bruce Lee also ordered Cone to pay $143,300 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term. A federal jury convicted Cone and a co-conspirator, Chun-Yu Zhao of Chantilly, Va., in May 2011 after a three-week trial. Zhao will be sentenced on Sept. 9, 2011. According to the evidence introduced at trial, Zhao, Cone and Zhaos family members in China operated a large-scale counterfeit computer networking equipment business under the names of JDC Networking Inc. and Han Tong Technology (Hong Kong) Limited. JDC Networking Inc., located in Virginia, altered Cisco products by using pirated software, and created labels and packaging in order to mislead consumers into believing the products it sold were genuine Cisco products. To evade detection, Zhao used various names and addresses in importation documents, and hid millions of dollars of counterfeit proceeds through a web of bank accounts and real estate held in the names of family members in China. The case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., office, as well as the Office of the Inspector General from the General Services Administration. U.S. Customs and Border Protection made a criminal referral to ICE after intercepting counterfeit products from China destined for addresses associated with Cone, Zhao and JDC Networking Inc.