Spy shops, in general, are difficult to trust, they often claim to offer “counter-spy” equipment for protecting your privacy, but will just as easily sell you the very devices you were afraid of in the first place. This one, the Queens Spy Shop in New York, seemed to be involved in a number of suspicious activities. Feds intercepted 1,000 fake Department of Transportation parking permits, officials said. (Don’t be fooled by their claims, the countermeasures equipment sold at spy shops is usually little more than toys and cannot be used for serious sweeps. Also interesting to note, is the Feds found eavesdropping equipment here, but it was not illegal to possess, so they are not being charged with that. Somebody is buying their products. Hope they don’t show up in your office, or hire a professional TSCM team to make sure they don’t.)
The feds have uncovered something other than cloak-and-dagger stuff going on at the Queens Spy Shop.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted a shipment of 1,000 counterfeit hologram logos for New York City Department of Transportation parking permits sent from India to the East Elmhurst store, which sells high-tech surveillance equipment. DOT issues only about 500 legitimate permits.
An airway bill which described the contents of the shipment only halfway truthfully as “plastic pouches” didn’t fool the agents who made the seizure on Aug. 18 at Kennedy Airport, according to a search warrant affidavit unsealed Thursday in Brooklyn Federal Court.
The counterfeit items were indeed clear plastic sleeves with the official-looking DOT hologram embossed on the surface and is used as a cover for the parking permit which authorizes employees to parking just about anywhere in the city.
“There is probable cause to believe that the (Queens Spy Shop) manufactures counterfeit NYCDOT permit parking passes,” which makes it a federal crime to traffic in goods using a counterfeit mark, the agent stated.
The spy shop is operated by Jonel VanDemark who was charged by Manhattan federal prosecutors with bank fraud last July.
VanDemark was allegedly involved in a totally illegal covert operation of identity theft and opening bank accounts using names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of other people, according to the court papers. He allegedly deposited more than $500,000 in stolen checks into the phony accounts.
The feds were apparently paying careful attention to overseas shipments to the spy shop and on Oct. 9 intercepted a package from Hong Kong containing four travel coffee holders with each containing hidden video and recording equipment. The court papers do not suggest there was anything illegal about the recording devices, but noted that the operators of the illicit ring are highly surveillance-conscious.
According to the Queens Spy Shop’s web site, it also peddles GPS tracking devices, equipment to sweep a room for electronic bugs, miniature nanny cameras, pen knives and “check mate” semen detection kits.
Van Demark’s federal defender declined to comment.