Accused counterfeit wristwatch seller arrested by Joliet police: cops

A man was arrested by Joliet police officers and accused of selling counterfeit wristwatches to undercover officers.

About 3:10 p.m. Thursday, Mahmoud Abushalanfah, 24, was booked into the Will County jail on felony charges of violating the Illinois Counterfeit Trademark Act.

Police and jail records show Abushalanfah has addresses listed in Greendale, Wisconsin, and Crest Hill.

The Joliet Police Department assisted Homeland Security Investigations with conducting a counterfeit wristwatch safe investigation at University Parkway in Romeoville, according to a statement from Joliet police.

Homeland Security Investigations is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Financial fraud, trade fraud and intellectual property theft are among the crimes investigated by the agency.

“During the investigation, Abushalanfah sold undercover officers three counterfeit wristwatches,” police said.

After the sale was made, Abushalanfah was arrested and taken to the Joliet Police Department.

His arrest occurred in the zero to 100 block of University Parkway in Romeoville, according to the Joliet police arrest log.

“Through questioning, it was determined that Abushalanfah knew the wristwatches were counterfeit when he sold them to the undercover officers,” police said.

After Abushalanfah was booked into jail Thursday, he appeared in court Friday for a bond hearing.

A judge found probable cause to continue Abushalanfah’s detention at the jail and set his bond at $50,000. He will need to post 10% of that amount for his release. He still remained in jail as of Friday afternoon.

As a condition of his bond, Abushalanfah must surrender all of his passports if he is released from jail, court records show.

Abushalanfah has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 23 to determine whether there’s probable cause that he committed the offenses for which he’s charged. A grand jury may return an indictment against him before then.