Episode 22: Fake bibs in New York City Marathon, death of European de minimus, and more fake money.

This week, the world of counterfeits and illicit trade delivered some wild twists, from fake golf grips and forged marathon bibs to a major policy earthquake out of Europe. Here are our headlines: 

• A Florida man pleaded guilty to trafficking counterfeit golf club grips that copied the Scotty Cameron brand, earning $170K from online sales between 2020–2024 and now facing up to 10 years in prison plus a $2M fine.
• An Inkster, Michigan, man is facing felony charges for allegedly using counterfeit $100 bills to pay for pizzas that he never returned to pick up. 
• A crew from New Jersey allegedly produced 10 fake NYC Marathon bibs by copying and modifying an image posted online. 
• A story in DesignNews highlights how counterfeit lithium-ion batteries lack crucial safety features, dramatically raising the risk of thermal runaway and spontaneous fires.
• Lululemon moves to register the term “Lululemon Dupe,” signaling a proactive strategy to address the exploding dupe economy.
• CRBN warns that fakes of its new pickleball paddles appeared on major marketplaces like Temu, Alibaba, eBay, OfferUp, and Facebook within weeks. 

Plus, a major sentencing in the U.S. pill-press trade and a surprising turn in the Notorious Markets process that puts American platforms under a new kind of spotlight. Let’s get into it.

• The European Commission announced that starting in 2026, it will eliminate the 150-euro customs duty exemption for all e-commerce imports. This closes the loophole that counterfeiters relied on to ship billions of small, low-value parcels into the EU with little scrutiny. Once removed, every parcel can be screened and risk-scored, marking what experts call a turning point for global enforcement. With both the EU and U.S. moving to shut down their de minimis systems, the world’s two largest consumer markets are aligning on a new model that could reshape global e-commerce flows and significantly disrupt illicit trade. 
• Sophie Chen, a saleswoman for a Chinese pill-press manufacturer, was sentenced to 52 months in federal prison. Chen's case is significant because it targets the international sellers of pill presses, not just the drugs themselves, a part of the illicit drug supply chain that often escapes accountability. Her employer and three of her colleagues have now been indicted in a related investigation.
• In a striking development, several major U.S. trade groups urged the U.S. government to add domestic platforms, including Meta, Amazon, and eBay, to the Notorious Markets List, traditionally reserved for the world’s worst counterfeit hotspots. Out of 77 submissions, at least six groups called for their inclusion. The message from brand owners is blunt: that the counterfeit crisis is not just offshore. It is happening at scale on American platforms that also claim to have the most sophisticated technology and resources in the world. If this pushes regulators toward stronger oversight and platform accountability, it could signal a major shift in U.S. illicit-trade policy.