Carrollton Man Sentenced for Counterfeit Cell Phone Accessories

TYLER � A 54-year-old Carrollton man has been sentenced to federal prison for a counterfeiting. Shiraz Sherali Odhwani pleaded guilty on September 9, 2011, to conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods. He was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison by United States District Judge Michael H. Schneider during a proceeding in Tyler. Odhwani was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $950,000.

According to U.S. prosecutors, Odhwani owns and operates a company known as Turtle Wireless, a wholesale outlet and retail point of sale for cellular telephones and wireless device accessories located in Dallas. In or about 2008, Turtle Wireless began selling counterfeit cellular telephone accessories purchased from suppliers in China. Through Turtle Wireless, Odhwani then sold the counterfeit products to retailers within the Eastern District of Texas and elsewhere. In connection with this case, law enforcement officials seized more than 130,000 counterfeit items from Odhwani�s store and leased storage space. The infringement amount of that counterfeit merchandise was estimated at between $2.5 million and $7 million. Odhwani and three others were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2011.