KEN IGE / KIGE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Peel-off labels are one of the indicators of fake Versace leather jackets being sold for hundreds of dollars on Oahu.
Scam artists peddle
fake leather jacketsDozens of people have bought bogus
Versaces, Honolulu police say
Honolulu police are warning that a group of men is selling fake leather jackets for hundreds of dollars on Oahu, often claiming that their products are leftover samples from a nonexistent product trade show.
Police said they've been getting dozens of calls from people who say they bought jackets in parking lots from "men with Italian accents and Italian passports" who claim their wares are leather Versace jackets worth between $1,000 and $3,000 but have to sell them for "reduced prices." Buyers end up paying between $60 and $130 per jacket, only to find out that what they've bought is neither leather nor Versace.
"They keep on saying the same thing to people," said CrimeStoppers Detective Letha DeCaires. "They're here on a trade show and instead of bringing jackets back to Italy, they are selling them at a reduced price."
She added: "Some people bought one or two jackets, others bought five or six. ... One guy bought six for $300."
A Makiki man, who has not reported his case to police, said he was approached in Chinatown in July and was sold six jackets for $800. He said one of the men tried to demonstrate that the jacket was real leather by showing that the flame from a lighter could not singe the surface.
However, when the buyer tried to do the same thing after the purchase, he melted a portion of the sleeve.
DeCaires said the sellers could be violating fraud laws by claiming to sell something under false pretenses.
"Right now, we just want to let people know that these guys are out there and they're not who they say they are and their products are not what they say they are."
DeCaires said she believes the sellers show their customers an actual leather Versace jacket but then make a switch during the buy. One woman said her boyfriend swears he saw the Versace logo when he saw it in the parking lot of City Mill last weekend in Kaneohe, so he bought six jackets for $300.
However, when he got home and removed the plastic on the jackets, the logo was nowhere to be found.
"We put out a police report that afternoon," said Karen, who did not want to her last name used. "I told my boyfriend that they're probably scamming people all over the place.
"It's just a real bummer," she said. "He works hard for his money and he thought he'd gotten such a good deal."
Some of the inner linings of the jackets say "Made in Italy" and have a "V" symbol next to it. Store officials for the Versace shop in Ala Moana Center said their jackets do not use any other trademark except the Versace name written in full.
The sellers are described as in their 30s and 40s and between 5 feet 2 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall. DeCaires said they sometimes operate alone and sometimes in pairs, and have been observed in the parking lots of large businesses, including Costco, City Mill, Home Depot and Safeway.
