The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "counterfeit" ...
-
Crime Inc: Counterfeit Goods
The story gives viewers a rare look at the production and sale of counterfeit goods. Viewers hear the story of a company whose brand was copied as well as that of a defense contractor who made counterfeit defense parts used in Iraq.
Tags: counterfeit; raid; fake handbag; fake shoes; fake jewelry; designer; underground industry
-
The Cloning Scam
"It is estimated that 37 thousand stolen vehicles are cloned every year in Brazil." To do so, they must use fake documents to pass car inspections, which allow them to receive counterfeit plates. To reveal all this activity, the reporter had to befriend these people and act as one of the gangs involved in the cloning scam. Also, the reporter learned how these criminal acts work and what it takes to pull this all off.
Tags: car cloning; Paraguay; gangs; drugs; criminal commerce; police; con; rip-off; inspections; cars
-
Bitter Pills
"Medicines for cancer, cholesterol, blood pressure - even the front-line defense against bird flu - are being counterfeited by international rings." Dateline NBC examines how "loopholes in existing government regulations have allowed the fakes to reach U.S. drug stores - even major chains like CVS and Rite Aid." The investigation into this potential health risk found, among other things, a cocaine smuggler who now counterfeits Lipitor "because there was less risk and more money." Also, photos of counterfeit operations revealed some "based in caves, others using drywall, cement and highway paint among their ingredients."
Tags: Counterfeit drugs; counterfeit medicines; drug tracking; health risks
-
Crossroads of Crime
"In a two part series, Trish Regan investigated counterfeiting (Part I) and terrorist fundraising (Part II) in the wild-west jungle town of Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. Although Ciudad del Este is largely unknown to Americans, intelligence officers regard the region as a lawless frontier, which is perhaps the most dangerous place in the Western Hemisphere. Located deep in the heart of South America and known as the tri-border region because it borders Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, Ciudad del Este has become a safe haven for counterfeiters and terrorist organizations."
Tags: terrorism; money; fundraising; counterfeit; South America; Middle East; Hezbollah;
-
Hacker Hunters
The authors investigated a battle of wits between the U.S. secret service and a cyber-crime gang known as the ShadowCrew. The story covers a rare victory by law enforcement to shut down a web-based crime outfit. It gave a face to the ShadowCrew, a network of over 4,000 people run by a part time college student and gave a reminder to internet users to be wary of doing business on the Web.
Tags: Internet; cyber-crime; web-based crime outfit; ShadowCrew; the U.S. Secret Service; e-business; Internet security
-
Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters are Contaminating America's Drug Supply
Eban writes about how medicine available from seemingly trustworthy sources like pharmacies and hospitals is sometimes not safe. The book shows how stolen, expired, mishandled or adulterated medicine cans still make their way into pharmacies and hospitals because they are passed through several other companies who buy and sell to one another. These companies sometimes have ties to drug traffickers and organized crime.
Tags: FDA; Food and Drug Administration; narcotics; hospitals; doctors; pharmaceuticals; pharmaceutical companies; drug dealers; Medicaid; Medicare; Mafia; business; prescription drugs; doctors; pharmacists; Operation Cold Stone
-
The Devil Next Door
Glenna Whitley investigated allegations against Doug Havard, a former Southern Methodist University student who is accused of turning Perkins Dorm into a crime ring by selling counterfeit driver's licenses, stealing electronics and selling drugs. Whitley interviewed Meghan Bodson, who claims that Havard drugged her with GHB and raped her. Bodson, who eventually left SMU, filed a lawsuit against the university for failing to properly investigate Havard's background and also for allowing him to remain at the university for three months after she exposed his crimes to officials.
Tags: Southern Methodist University; SMU; Doug Harvard; GHB; marijuana; counterfeiting
-
The World's Greatest Fakes
In this hidden camera investigation, CBS News/60 Minutes look into the underground counterfeit factories of China. One correspondent travelled deep within the country to meet with the owners of these factories, as well as government and law enforcement officials. What he found was a number of different American products being counterfeited, from Callaway golf products to J.K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter series. According to the report, the Chinese economy is heavily reliant upon these counterfeit operations and, as one officer told the reporter, "it's simply the price of doing business in the fastest growing economy in the world."
Tags: counterfeit goods; trade; distribution; intellectual property; copyright; Callaway; Pfizer; hidden camera; underground factories
-
Pharmacy Fakes
With this article, SELF Magazine broke the story of adulterated and counterfeit prescription drugs entering America's pharmacies. The article revealed for the first time, that counterfeiters had systematically infiltrated the domestic drug supply, gaining access to fragile medicines and diluting or falsely relabeling them in order to reap a high profit. They exposed how most of the nation's medicine passes through a vast gray market of wholesalers, and how weak enforcement of federal and state regulations makes it close to impossible to identify where our medicine has come from. The article contains personal accounts from patients who had been harmed by counterfeit medicine, and a report on a Florida investigation which had uncovered potential misconduct at 50 of the state's wholesale companies.
Tags: prescription drugs; pharmacies; counterfeit medicine; tainted drugs; Food and Drug Administration; Prescription Drug Marketing Act; pharmaceutical wholesalers; Florida Department of Law Enforcement; CVS ProCare Pharmacy; Healthcare Distribution Management Association; drugmakers; Jemco Medical International; relabeling; diluting; serostim; Serono; AIDS
-
Counterfeit Drug Spur Calls for Crackdown
This story found that there is little scrutiny given to prescription-drug wholesalers by New Jerseys department of health. There are few licensing requirements and oversight is spotty, making it impossible for distributors to engage in most any activity.
Tags: drugs; prescription; Canada; fraud