|
Home > What's New > Padrón Cigar Counterfeiters Sued for $146,000
Posted December 10, 2001, 5 p.m. e.s.t.
The Padrón family has little tolerance for those who counterfeit their
cigars. And considering the tremendous demand for their highly-prized Padrón
1964 Anniversary Series, keeping tabs on the counterfeiters is a job that
requires constant vigilance. Recently, U.S. District Court Judge James
Lawrence King handed down judgments favorable to Padrón Cigars Inc. against
two counterfeiters.
In July 2001, a judgement of $38,000 was entered against Gaby Corp. of
Davie, Florida, while Miami's Lola Cigars Corp. and its principal, Augustin
Valera, were found liable in the amount of $108,540.
The cases stemmed from a July 2000 civil lawsuit Padrón filed against Gaby
that sought damages for the sale of counterfeit cigars. The company alleged
that Gaby was selling counterfeit Padróns to retailers, who hoped to cash in
on high demand for the perennially high-rated Nicaraguan puros. Padrón
accused Gaby Corp of selling the fakes and using fake bands and boxes to
package the merchandise.
U.S. marshals raided Gaby's warehouse in Davie on July 20, 2000, unearthing
some fake Padrón 1964 Anniversary Torpedos. The marshals seized the
company's computer records, which revealed cigar distributors Lola Cigars
and Valera as the source of the fakes, according to Padrón president Jorge
L. Padrón. Soon after the raid, Padrón Cigars filed a civil suit against
Lola Cigars and Valera, seeking both a preliminary and permanent injunction
and damages.
"We're not ruling out the possibility of there being more counterfeits in
the marketplace," said Padrón. "That's why we encourage consumers to buy
from authorized retailers and to make sure that the cigars they purchas have
the numbered Anniversary guarantee seal."
This is not the first time Padrón and his company have taken on the
counterfeiters. In June 1999, fake Padrón Anniversaries appeared in
Nicaragua. In January 2000, police seized 3,000 counterfeit Padrón
Anniversary cigars and 5,000 Padrón bands in a Los Angeles warehouse, fake
cigars that were apparently made in Nicaragua and then imported and sold in
California. Padrón estimated those counterfeiters sold almost 14,000 cigars
before they were caught. In March 2000, more counterfeit Padrón 1964
Anniversary Series cigars were discovered, this time being sold on the
Internet, and in September 2000, more than $60,000 worth of fake cigars were
seized by undercover agents in a New York City raid.
To help thwart potential counterfeiters, the company added a second band to
the cigars in its Anniversary line. Each band now includes a serial number,
and the company said the numbers are organized to help detect potential
cases of counterfeiting. In addition to the second band, the Padróns began
engraving the gold hinges of their boxes with the word "Padron," without the
accent.
Padrón Cigars is not the only cigar company impacted by counterfeiting. In
addition to the myriad cases of counterfeit Cuban cigars unearthed over the
years, Altadis, General Cigar Co. and Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. have also
been victimized.
--Jordan Russin
Related Topics:
Posted March 2, 2001
Padrón Adds Second Band To Anniversary Line
Posted March 2, 2001
Fake Padróns Seized In New York
Posted March 13, 2000
Padrón vs. Counterfeiters, Round II
Posted January 31, 2000
Fake Padróns Seized in L.A.
Posted June 7, 1999
Fake Padróns Spotted in Nicaragua
Also in Cigar News:
| 
Cigar Aficionado RSS Feed