GETTING THE GOOD GOODS CRACKDOWN ON COUNTERFEITS HELPS BUYERS GET REAL THING.

Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer

SAUGUS - Lakers fans beware: That stylish new yellow and purple T-shirt may be a fraud.

More than $20,000 in counterfeit goods - including phony Los Angeles Lakers memorabilia, Levi jeans, designer sunglasses and CDs - was seized at the Saugus Swap Meet last weekend, and two men were arrested on suspicion of marketing the bogus goods, authorities said Tuesday.

Gilberto Melchor, 30, of Pacoima was arrested on suspicion of counterfeiting a registered trademark and turned over 125 pairs of phony Levi jeans, said Detective Chris Christopher of the Santa Clarita sheriff's station.

Fernando Garcia, 26, of Van Nuys was arrested on suspicion of failing to disclose the origin of audio recordings after he was found with nearly 500 low-quality, counterfeit CDs, Christopher said.

The men are scheduled to be arraigned on the misdemeanor charges July 11 in Newhall Superior Court, he said.

Officials from the Intellectual Property Enforcement Company, a private firm that investigates trademark violations throughout the country, assisted Christopher in his investigation.

``It's a billion dollar a year problem for the trademark holders,'' said Carlos Fernandos, head of IPEC's Los Angeles office. ``And the counterfeit problem isn't just clothing. We've seized everything from counterfeit oysters to automotive parts.''

In addition to the bogus jeans and CDs, authorities seized phony Laker's T-shirts and hats and Oakley and Ray Ban sunglasses from four vendors, officials said. However, because of the low volume of goods seized, the vendors weren't arrested.

While the problem of fake designer items exists, Christopher said there has been a drastic reduction in the amount of counterfeit property available at the flea market in recent years.

``The first time I went there there were probably 40 or 50 vendors with counterfeit products,'' he said. ``Now, it's probably the cleanest swap meet in the county.''

But it's not always easy to distinguish the real from the fake, and the detective said many people don't realize they've been duped until it's too late.

``The clothes might look OK until you put them in the washer and all the other clothes turn a funny color,'' he said. ``Or the CD might look real until you get home and the sound quality is poor.''

Investigators also look for poorly stitched labels and the absence of trademark secrets, Christopher said. The phony products are manufactured at illegal factories throughout the country.

``There's a counterfeit version of just about everything, from airplane parts to computer parts,'' he said.

The counterfeit property seized by authorities is either destroyed or donated to poverty stricken countries where there is no market for it.