United States v. Sultan

Mohammed Sultan (defendant) owned an auto-parts surplus warehouse and was an authorized dealer for automaker General Motors (GM). Sultan bought parts from GM and other suppliers and resold them overseas to customers in Saudi Arabia. For several years, Sultan operated his business out of a warehouse in which another auto-parts dealer, Garbis Jerjerian, also operated. Their businesses were separate, but Sultan occasionally purchased parts from Jerjerian. Sultan later moved his business to a new location. United States customs agents obtained a warrant for the warehouse Sultan and Jerjerian previously shared and out of which Jerjerian still operated. They discovered counterfeit auto parts and a storeroom containing counterfeit GM marks that Jerjerian applied to non-GM products. Sultan was still listed as an emergency contact for the warehouse despite doing business elsewhere and was contacted by officials in connection with the search. Both GM and U.S. customs agents also searched and reviewed Sultan’s new warehouse and business but did not find any counterfeit products or evidence of counterfeiting. Sultan and Jerjerian were both indicted for trafficking in counterfeit goods in violation of the Trademark Counterfeiting Act. A jury found Sultan guilty based on the government’s circumstantial case. The government argued that Sultan should have known about the counterfeiting given that he shared warehouse space with Jerjerian, and that Sultan was an experienced GM dealer who also should have known how GM products were priced and packaged, making him able to identify counterfeit goods.