By The Associated Press

Published: Monday, November 26, 2012, 7:46 p.m.
Updated: Monday, November 26, 2012

BUFFALO, N.Y. — More than 100 domain names were seized in an international crackdown on websites that sell counterfeit merchandise, federal authorities said on Monday, just in time for the biggest online shopping day of the year.

It was the third consecutive Cyber Monday that websites selling knockoff sports jerseys, DVDs, cologne and other goods were blocked. This year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations coordinated the 132-site effort with Europol and several European police departments.

“This is not an American problem, it is a global one, and it is a fight we must win,” ICE Director John Morton said in a statement.

At a news conference in Buffalo, investigators displayed tables full of knockoff Buffalo Bills jerseys, cologne and baseball caps purportedly made by Buffalo-based New Era Cap Co., all of which they had ordered online from mostly legitimate-looking websites.

“Intellectual property theft is not a victimless crime,” said James Spero, special agent-in-charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Buffalo.

Agents worked with copyright holders to confirm that products purchased from the targeted websites were illegal.

Most of the counterfeit goods are produced in and shipped from China, authorities said.

The single person arrested in the case, Gary Hammer, was charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods, accused of producing and selling counterfeit Microsoft software on Craigslist.

Americans were expected to spend $1.5 billion on Cyber Monday.

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