'Store' full of knock-off handbags, accessories busted in Paulding County, woman arrested

PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. - A Paulding County woman has been arrested for selling counterfeit bags, belts and other accessories.  Paulding County sheriff’s investigators say the items were sold online and in person.

"Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Gucci, all of these very exclusive high-end brands. There were belts, shoes, handbags, purses, clutches," said Paulding County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ashley Henson.

Detectives say the high-end items were being sold out of a home on Adelene Way and through an online store called Shine’s Boutique. Investigators say when they walked into the home, it looked more like a store.

"You had a Louis Vuitton section, a Dolce & Gabbana section, each brand, and set up where you had certain types of handbags, smaller to the bigger, and then accessories as well," said Sgt. Henson.

Ashley Frank  (Paulding County Sheriffs Office)

Investigators say the problem is, they were all fake and very good ones.

"This is not something you might see at a flea market. These items looked real only to the trained eye. Would you know these were not high-end handbags?" said Sgt. Henson.

Gatekeeper Global, an international private security company which manages numerous trademarks and helps prevent fake reproductions, tipped off the sheriff’s office.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office says it has made a massive counterfeit handbag bust. (Paulding County Sheriff's Office)

When sheriff’s investigators went into the home, they found more than 12,000 knock offs.

"Had all the items that we seized, had they all been real, it would have been more than $11 million worth of product inside her home," said Sgt. Henson.

The woman who lives there, 39-year-old Ashley Frank, was arrested and charged with selling goods and forged counterfeit trademarks, service marks, and copyrighted designs.

The Paulding County Sheriff’s Office says it has made a massive counterfeit handbag bust. (Paulding County Sheriff's Office)

"It was a very organized operation, and from what we could gather, and a very lucrative operation for the suspect," said Sgt. Henson.

All the items seized are now in an evidence room at the sheriff’s office and will eventually be destroyed.