Trip to Italy could cost alleged counterfeiter dearly

A man on the run for a decade after being accused of playing a role in a notorious case of counterfeiting involving a popular energy drink has been taken into custody.

Mexican citizen Juan Romero fled prosecution after being indicted by law enforcement in a 2015 case brought against 11 people who were accused of manufacturing and distributing millions of fake versions of 5-Hour Energy drinks, a brand owned by US company Living Essentials. He was arrested after travelling from Mexico to Italy for a holiday

In a significant legal battle that spanned several years, the makers of the popular products successfully brought to justice various members of the counterfeiting network, including Joseph and Adriana Shayota, who were sentenced to 86 months and 26 months in prison by a US judge in 2017, with their convictions upheld on appeal two years later.

The 5-Hour Energy conspiracy began in late 2009 and continued through October 2012.  Initially contracted to sell 5-Hour Energy drinks in Mexico through their Baja Exporting company, the Shayotas soon breached that agreement by diverting cheaper, Spanish product back into the US market with fake labels and near-US price tags.

They later turned to making and distributing counterfeit versions made in an unsanitary facility in San Diego, using untrained day workers and mixing unregulated ingredients in vats. Prosecutors have suggested at least three million bottles had been placed into interstate commerce.

Romero – who is now in his late seventies – was accused of sourcing bottles and caps to be used in the counterfeit production using his Envases Plasticos company. The charges against Romero are merely allegations that crimes have been committed and he should be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Other defendants involved in the scheme received various sentences and fines, including a $20m civil judgment against several of the conspirators.

A Law360 report notes that Living Essentials has urged the court to keep him in custody pending trial, saying: "The upshot is that Juan Romero has never had to face the consequences of his blatantly criminal actions, and has never paid Living Essentials a single cent of what is owed."

The company's counsel maintains that Romera is likely to flee the US if granted bail.