A 71-year-old jewelry shop owner from Florida is facing legal charges after the police found over $1.6 million worth of fake luxury pieces. According to the police, Yon So was arrested on Monday for selling high-end counterfeit products. She is the owner of Sharon Jewelry at the Lauderhill Mall.
As far back as December, officials were notified that counterfeit Chanel items were being sold at Ok Yon So’s store. An investigator hired by Chanel visited the shop and bought a Van Cleef and Arpels necklace costing $100 and a pair of $40 earrings, as he wrote in the report.
Ok Yon So photo. Broward Sheriff’s Office
The shop assistant who registered the purchase acknowledged they weren’t genuine branded pieces. When asked about how much the real items would cost, he gave a rough estimate of ten thousand dollars. The detective proved that the Van Cleef and Arpels items were indeed fake. The company’s lawyer stated that a real necklace and earrings would go for about $15,000 in total.
About four years ago, a detective from Chanel gave Ok Jon So’s shop a cease-and-desist notice, demanding they willingly stop selling Chanel-branded replicas. At that time, the owner refused to surrender the jewelry pieces bearing the Chanel logo.
In January 2024, an undercover police officer visited the Sharon Jewelry store posing as a regular customer, and saw numerous counterfeit pieces for sale. For example, Chanel earrings for almost $100, a Chanel pendant for $25, a Chanel bangle for $625, a Van Cleef & Arpels parure set for $840, and last but not least, a Van Cleef & Arpels ring for $35. The police officer bought the earrings priced at $49, despite real ones typically having a retail price of $550. Chanel representatives later confirmed the earrings were fake.
Just one month later, another undercover policeman returned to the shop and bought Chanel earrings for $39, even though a genuine pair would sell for at least as much as the previous items. Naturally, they were also proven to be counterfeit.
On March 13, 2024, the authorities administered a search warrant. As a result, the police seized 246 pieces of counterfeit jewelry and confiscated over $20,000 in cash.
Video report, published on NBC 6 Miami web site
The report states that Sharon Jewelry’s owner admitted that she was selling fake items. Apart from Chanel, the seized jewelry replicated such luxury trademarks as Gucci, Warner Brother, Louis Vuitton, Sanrio, Rolex, and Christian Dior. If genuine, the total worth of these goods would have amounted to over $1,6 million! The jewelry store owner is now to be thrown into jail, and no further details concerning the proceedings are currently available to the public.
