Dealer jailed over phoney Cisco routers

A computer reseller has been jailed for 2.5 years after an investigation by the FBI into counterfeit computer equipment.

Yongcai Li, a Chinese dealer based in California, has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for his part in the rebadging of generic routing equipment which was badged with the Cisco brand and sold as such.

Li, also known as Michael Lee, sold the routers via his company Gaoyi Tech. He will also have to repay US$800,000 to Cisco in lost revenue.

The man was arrested by FBI agents at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this year and pleaded guilty to a count of trafficking in counterfeit goods.

The FBI has been carrying out a five year crackdown on the growing problem of counterfeit Cisco routers. To date the investigation has led to 400 seizures of over US$78m worth of hardware.

Part of the reason for the FBI investigation are concerns that rebadged routers may be harbouring malware that is being used in industrial espionage and online crime.