> Give or take $1500x800 = $1.2 million
> Selling since 2003.
>
> So yeah, actually, there should have been mo money but they also seized 5 houses and
> cars.
Agreed, but those items may have been purchased separately from funds moved out of the PRC that were unrelated to the x-in-1 cabinet business. If I had to guess, when the seizures happened all personal assets (including the homes and vehicles) were taken regardless of whether or not they were purchased from the proceeds of the counterfeit cabinet sales.
> Coinopstore also sells cleaned up original arcade machines at obscenly high
> prices.
I've heard stories that their work also left a few things to be desired in some cases, but fully admit that I've never had any contact with Coinopstore so can't comment first-hand.
> Sorry folks, no money laundering here.
Something I want to clarify re: funds being moved into the US from the PRC: I see it less as being money laundering (though there is undoubtedly some of that going on) and more just tax avoidance. Don't want to sound as though I'm splitting hairs over it, but do want to make that part clearer than it may perhaps have been.
> There actually is money to be made in classic
> arcade multimachines, mostly cocktail cabinets. The machines weren't fakes.
> Counterfeit for sure, but not fake. They could be set for taking coins or freeplay so
> mostly private use, but lots of commercial use as well. Perhaps Namco got fed up with
> seeing the machines in all the barcades and cafes that are appearing thoughout the
> area.
My guess is that Coinopstore was on their radar for a while, and may possibly have had ties to whoever's importing the PCBs. The retailers generally aren't worth prosecuting, but importers and wholesalers may be depending on how much turnover they have on items like this. Then again, Coinopstore may have had turnover to justify an investigation and raid. That's pure conjecture on my behalf, though.
> What is surprising though is that they were also selling machines wrapped in art from
> the NFL, MLB, NHL, Disney, Wizard of Oz, Marvel, Harley Davidson etc, and bragged
> about how they could do whatever you wanted to the Feds.
Do you happen to have a link to anything detailing their statements to the Feds? I searched but didn't turn anything up detailing who actually handled the raids and arrests, and would really like to know what level of law enforcement (local or Federal) handled it.
> They also sold around the country, crossing state lines.
Which would make it Federal, but I just can't find anything detailing who actually gave them The Knock.
> So far, it appears to be only Namco that got upset about it.
> Haven't even heard from General Computer Corp (GCC) whom guards Ms Pac-Man
Other defendants may be able to attach themselves to the case, depending on how it's structured and what the court allows.
> Court date is Aug 21. Now thats a jury duty I would love to be on
Not sure if this is just a preliminary hearing or a full-blown trial. Either way, it'll be interesting to see what happens.
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