Portland based Supplied PDX is at the center of an investigation by federal authorities and Nike for buying, selling, and supplying counterfeit shoes.
Earlier this month, agents from the IRS and Homeland Security Investigations searched the home of James Pepion where more than 1500 pairs of potentially counterfeit Nike, Adidas, and ASICS were recovered along with several phones and laptops.
The investigation started last month on March 5th when Nike’s internal investigators conducted a probe into online retailer get-supplied.com, a website owned by James Pepion, according to a federal search warrant. The business is known to many on the web as Supplied PDX across social media.
James Pepion and Supplied PDX are accused of selling stolen, counterfeit, and “grey market” Nike and Jordan shoes from unauthorized pre-releases. According to investigators, the products are made from stolen components outside of authorized Nike factories in China.
According to investigators, Pepion received more than $2.6M in his PayPal account since it was opened in 2012.
Pepion is accused to have used various addresses to receive approximately 100 shipments between May 2009 and January of 2015 of shoes from Hong Kong and China, a federal search warrant showed.
Between March 20, 2015 and November 2, 2015, agents in Portland stopped several packages headed to Pepion and Supplied PDX. In total, 16 of the 17 searches yielded counterfeit shoes.
Agents seized trash from Pepion’s residence in Happy Valley on the 15000 block of SE Aspen Way and collected his financial records on August 27, 2015.
After agents served Google with a search warrant, they were able to track an email that belonged to a Chinese national who is suspected of thefts of samples and components from Nike manufacturing partner facilities in China, according to records. The man is also said to have organized the sale of stolen samples and counterfeit Nike and Air Jordan shoes.
“The email appears to show Pepion ordering bulk quantities of shoes [from the Chinese national] and having them delivered to other persons in the United States on his behalf,” according to the warrant.
James Pepion faces no criminal charges at this time
Money transfers that totaled $174,460 were sent from two American-based bank accounts to China between June 2013 and September 2015, according to court documents.
Pepion could be charged with wire fraud, trafficking in counterfeit goods and money laundering. As of Monday, no criminal charges have been filed in U.S. District Court.
Multiple attempts to reach Pepion for comment for this story were unsuccessful. Several of the phone numbers associated to him went directly to voicemail boxes that were full.
According to the “Supplied” description in the Apples iTunes store, “Supplied Has Become The #1 Selling Sneaker Destination Online.”
Many of Pepion’s and SuppliedPDX’s social media accounts have since been deleted. The “Get-Supplied.com” website that used the Shopify platform is currently undergoing “rebuilding.”
Nike issued a statement regarding the investigation to KOIN6 in Portland.
“Nike aggressively protects our brand, our retailers, and most importantly our consumers against counterfeiting. We actively work with law enforcement and customs officials around the world to combat the production and sale of counterfeit product, and are supporting Homeland Security Investigations in this investigation.”
Supplied PDX has long been suspected by many within the sneaker community of selling counterfeit goods after many individuals purchased shoes from them that didn’t appear to be authentic.
We will keep you posted with developments from this story as they unfold.
