Latvian national faces $4.5 million fine, prison time for trademark letter scheme - Reuters

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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is seen in Alexandria, Virginia, U.S., September 1, 2020. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

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• Viktors Suhorukovs tricked trademark owners into sending him renewal fees
• His 'Patent and Trademark Office LLC' caused confusion with PTO
• Suhorukovs received over $1.2 million from more than 900 payments

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(Reuters) - A South Carolina federal judge sentenced a Latvian citizen to more than four years in prison and fined him over $4.5 million in restitution after he pleaded guilty to mail fraud for tricking trademark owners into sending him payments meant for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Viktors Suhorukovs, 37, sent trademark owners phony letters from his companies "Patent and Trademark Office LLC" and "Patent and Trademark Bureau LLC" lying about their registrations expiring, and then charging them inflated prices to supposedly renew them, the DOJ said in a statement on Wednesday.

Suhorukovs couldn't renew the registrations because they weren't up for renewal yet and because he's not a licensed attorney in the U.S., the statement said.

Suhorukovs' indictment for mail fraud last year in Greenville, S.C., federal court said he received over $1.2 million from more than 900 payments between 2017 and 2020. DOJ said it had identified over 2,900 victims of the scheme in its statement.

Fake solicitations from private companies have been an ongoing issue for the PTO.

"Trademark filing scams are a growing international problem, with foreign entities increasingly targeting U.S. citizens with misleading solicitations," PTO Commissioner of Trademarks David Gooder said in the statement. "We are committed to the rigorous protection of all users of our world-class trademark register and are pleased to work with law enforcement to achieve a result like the one in this case."

Suhorukovs' attorneys Arkady Bukh and George Grosso of the Bukh Law Firm and Alex Kornfeld of Alex Kornfeld Attorney at Law didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case began after a Greenville woman reported to local police that she had been tricked by the scheme, according to a Homeland Security agent's affidavit. Suhorukovs was arrested in New York last February.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Marosek prosecuted the case.

U.S. District Judge Donald Coggins presided.

The case is United States v. Suhorukovs, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, No. 6:20-cr-00210.

For Suhorukovs: Arkady Bukh and George Grasso of the Bukh Law Firm, Alex Kornfeld of Alex Kornfeld Attorney at Law.

For the U.S.: Assistant U.S. Attorney Winston Marosek

Blake Brittain

Blake Brittain reports on intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Reach him at blake.brittain@thomsonreuters.com

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Latvian national faces $4.5 million fine, prison time for trademark letter scheme - Reuters
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