Sneaker culture has led to a new industry: the sneaker resale market, which generates $1 billion in sales yearly. It’s also a market for counterfeit sneakers. One reseller was James Pepion, who did business through Get-Supplied.com and who was raided earlier this year by the IRS and the Department of Homeland Security.
Investigators found that Pepion’s PayPal account for his business had received over $2 million since 2012 with many comments attached to transactions calling the sneakers he sold fake. He was accused of selling fake, unauthorized, and grey market sneakers produced outside of Nike’s partnered factories. The investigation tied Pepion to a Chinese national suspected of organizing the theft and sale of sneakers from factories.