BUFFALO, N.Y. –U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers working at the Peace Bridge seized 180 counterfeit hoverboards with an estimated MSRP of just over $52,000. The hoverboards contained counterfeit batteries.
“This is another example of our officers and import specialists ensuring that safe products enter the U.S.,” said Acting Port Director Cary Frieling. “Enforcing intellectual property rights protects the company who manufactures the genuine product, and protects the consumer.”
Hoverboards—self-balancing, two-wheeled, motorized platforms—are some of this past holiday season’s most popular items. Major safety concerns have surfaced following reports of fires possibly caused by substandard and counterfeit lithium ion batteries that power some hoverboards.
In late December, officers selected a tractor trailer for a secondary examination. Examination of the contents resulted in the discovery of 180 boxes of “Scooty” hoverboards. CBP import specialists later determined the batteries in the hoverboards were counterfeit and potentially dangerous. The hoverboards were seized for property rights violations.
Counterfeit batteries are a continuing concern for CBP. With recent seizures in Norfolk, Va., Washington-Dulles International Airport, International Falls, Minn. and Miami, Fla., CBP continues to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on the use of counterfeit and unauthorized batteries in hoverboards.
