A word of advice when shopping at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally: If it seems too good to be true, it is.

Even if it says "Harley-Davidson," a leather jacket marked $50 or a belt buckle priced at $5 is sure to be a counterfeit, company spokesmen say.

"The best advice we can give is to buy from an authorized dealer or buy from a Harley-Davidson dealer," said Kevin McPherson, who works in trademark enforcement for the Harley-Davidson Motor Company.

As any motorcycle enthusiast knows, Harley-Davidson merchandise has become enormously popular over the past 20 years. Licensed dealers sell everything from dog collars to coffee, all marked with the famous bar-and-shield Harley logo.

As a result, more people are trying to cash in on the Harley-Davidson name by selling knock-offs of Harley clothing, jewelry and other items. Unwitting shoppers looking for bargains at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally may be duped into buying something they think is genuine, only to find out it's a cheap copy.

Motorcycle rallies like Sturgis are prime territory for counterfeit goods, which is why Harley-Davidson sends trademark enforcement people to all major bike rallies - including Daytona and Laconia - as well as some smaller rallies, McPherson said.

Three former Sturgis vendors know that now.

In two separate cases pending in federal court, three men have pleaded guilty to federal charges for selling fake Harley-Davidson merchandise at last year's Sturgis Rally.

Peter Liu, 44, Apple Valley, Calif., was arrested Aug. 10, after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents seized 128 purses, 277 shirts and 245 pins, along with cash, money orders and business documents, from his kiosk in Sturgis on Third Street between Main and Lazelle and a semitrailer.

That same day, Stephen Tronolone, no age available, and Michael Johnson, also known as Kori Johnson, no age available, both of Crestview, Fla., were arrested at The Ride Bell Company, 1053 Main St. in Sturgis. Officers seized more than 375 necklaces, 100 charms and 500 rings, along with bracelets, earrings, body jewelry, cash, ledgers and nine containers of counterfeit Harley merchandise from their booth and two pickup trucks.

These are the first Rally-related counterfeit cases Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Vargo remembers prosecuting. But that doesn't mean Liu, Tronolone and Johnson were the only vendors selling fake goods.

The first thing Harley representatives do when they find counterfeit goods "in the field" is talk to the vendor and serve him with a civil cease-and-desist letter, which demands that the vendor quit selling the goods, surrender them voluntarily and promise not to sell counterfeit goods in the future.

"If they comply with our demands, then we'll basically consider the matter closed at that point," McPherson said. "We want to get the goods off the street so they're not in the hands of our consumers."

If a vendor refuses to comply, he or she is "introduced" to law enforcement officers, McPherson said. "In most situations, it's a felony offense."

Last year's Sturgis cases were handled by ICE agents. ICE is a division of the Department of Homeland Security that investigates criminal violations of federal laws that protect trademarks and other "intellectual property."

Some cases - especially cases where a vendor promised to stop selling counterfeit goods, then continued to do so - go to court. They can result in jail time, restitution, fines and/or probation.

ICE spokesman Tim Counts said ICE agents often work with company representatives but also investigate tips from the public and from other law enforcement agencies.

And sometimes, getting caught with counterfeit goods is only the beginning of the seller's problems.

"It's not uncommon for us to combine immigration and customs law enforcement in one case," Counts said. If a vendor is in the country illegally or is here legally but becomes deportable as a result of a criminal conviction, he or she can wind up being deported.

That happens after any criminal proceedings are finished. "We feel if somebody has committed a law violation, the consequence shouldn't only be a free trip home," Counts said. "They need to do the time for the crime first."

Do customers turn in people selling counterfeit goods?

"All the time," McPherson said with a chuckle. So do Harley dealers, regional managers and HOG (Harley Owners Group) members - "anyone in the known universe, pretty much," he said. "We have many eyes in the field."

They include licensed Harley-Davidson dealers like Al Rieman, president of Black Hills Harley-Davidson Corp.

"We see some of it, and the basic responsibility we have as a dealer is to bring it to the Motor Company's attention," Rieman said, adding that Harley-Davidson routinely holds seminars to show dealers how to identify counterfeit goods.

Sometimes, the goods are real, but the vendor isn't licensed to sell it. That can be hard to trace, Rieman said.

Rieman also sees people who have modified a licensed Harley-Davidson product in a way that violates trademark laws - for example, a Harley sign made into a clock. Many people don't know that although that's okay for your own use, it's illegal to sell.

Counterfeit goods hurt the company in several ways. They take sales away from businesses that have invested in the training and other requirements of being a licensed dealer.

Perhaps more importantly, they reflect badly on the Harley-Davidson brand name.

"Typically, the stuff that I've seen that's counterfeit is inferior quality," Rieman said. "I've never seen anything where I had to look at it twice."

"When you have a lot of substandard products in the marketplace bearing our trademark, obviously it could affect people's view of our brand," McPherson agreed.

And if a company knows about trademark and copyright violations but doesn't do anything about them, the company runs the risk of losing legal ownership of the brand. In other words, "Harley-Davidson" could become a generic term.

"That's something we absolutely cannot have," McPherson said.

Trademark violations happen everywhere. Part of McPherson's job is monitoring eBay for counterfeit Harley goods. As a representative of the trademark owner, he can cancel any auction.

"At any given moment, there are over 100,000 auctions on eBay that have Harley-Davidson in the title," he said. "We're one of the largest brands on eBay."

As for the Sturgis counterfeit vendors, all three defendants were indicted on felony charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods. Tronolone and Johnson pleaded guilty to that charge in mid July. Liu pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of criminal infringement on copyright.

Trafficking in counterfeit goods, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Copyright infringement is punishable by one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Contact Heidi Bell Gease at 394-8419 or heidi.bell@rapidcityjournal.com