City man suspected of selling imitation clothes A 66-year-old Long Branch resident faces up to 10 years in jail LONG BRANCH - A Long Branch man is being charged with selling counterfeit clothing out of a Fourth Avenue business. On Dec. 13, members of the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, the New Jersey State Police and the Long Branch Police Department arrested Melvin Stanger, 66, on a complaint charging him with second-degree trademark counterfeiting. If convicted of the charge, Stanger could face up to 10 years in prison, according to a press release from the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office. Bail was set for Stanger at $250,000 with no 10 percent option, according to the press release. "Stanger's fraudulent criminal activity caused serious repercussions for the unwitting consumer and the legitimate manufacturer," Monmouth County Prosecutor Luis A. Valentin said in the press release. "The distribution of counterfeit merchandise disrupts legitimate commerce," he said. An investigation by the prosecutor's office and the state police revealed that Stanger distributed counterfeit clothing through a company called Fashion Depot Group located on Fourth Avenue in Long Branch. The counterfeit clothing included imitations of items such as $1,900 jeans being sold for $29, according to the release. Stanger's operation included the distribution of counterfeit clothing bearing the following brand names; Baby Phat, Red Monkey, Apple Bottoms, Coogi, Akademiks, Evisu, Rocawear and Girbaud, according to the release. Over 13,000 pieces of counterfeit clothing, valued at over $1 million, were recovered during the investigation, according to the release. The investigation also revealed that orders were placed to Stanger's business via the Internet, via fax and in person at the Long Branch store location. Customers paid Stanger by cash, check or wire transfers. Representatives of the victimized manufacturers became suspicious when they began to receive customer complaints about questionable merchandise being sold through the Internet from Stanger's Web site, according to the release. From those complaints, it was determined, through further analysis of the products sold, that such items were in fact counterfeit, according to the press release. Col. Joseph R. Fuentes, superintendent of the New Jersey State Police, said in the press release, "The selling of counterfeit clothing may appear to be a victimless crime, but crimes such as this finance other criminal activities. "This cooperative investigation and subsequent arrest disrupts the financial support that fuels criminal enterprise," Fuentes said.