Baseball securityMLB, DHS crack down on counterfeiting at All-Star games

Major League Baseball (MLB), the Phoenix police department, and a host of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies are joining forces to combat counterfeit ticket and merchandise sales during the 2011 MLB All-Star Week in Phoenix, Arizona.

The organizations are banding together to form the Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force which is “designed to protect the thousands of Major League Baseball fans” during the All-Star week, said Ethan Orlinsky, the senior vice president and general counsel of MLB Properties.

“Counterfeiting is a serious offense and through the combined efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, we will work together to ensure that fans purchase only official MLB licensed products during All-Star Week and have the best experience possible,” Orlinsky added.

The task force will have undercover investigators roaming the stadium grounds and convention center to see if any vendors are selling counterfeit merchandise or tickets. The task force will also have agents check manufacturing facilities, retail stores, and sidewalk vendors.

The International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) estimates that businesses lose an estimated $600 billion to counterfeiting each year around the world.

At a press conference held at Phoenix’s Chase Field, representatives from MLB, the Arizona Diamondbacks, and the Phoenix police department reiterated that selling counterfeit merchandise is a crime under federal, state, and/or local laws.

The officials added that fake merchandise would be seized and any individuals found guilty of producing, distributing, offering for sale, or selling counterfeit merchandise or tickets could be fined as much as $2 million or be imprisoned for as long as ten years.

The All-Star Week will be held from 8 July to 12 July in Phoenix, Arizona.