A U.S. Department of State employee is accused of using his embassy computer in Seoul, Korea, to sell counterfeit Vera Bradley handbags to customers across the United States.

Gene Leroy Thompson Jr., 53, and his wife Guojiao “Becky” Zhang, 39, were arrested Wednesday, and made their first appearance in federal court in Seattle, according to federal prosecutors.

The two worked with an alleged accomplice who stored and shipped the goods from a home in Nyssa, Oregon, according to an indictment unsealed Wednesday. Thompson had previously lived in Nyssa, public records show.

The indictment charges Thompson and Zhang each with conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit goods and two counts of trafficking in counterfeit goods. The alleged Oregon accomplice has not been identified or charged.

Thompson, an information program officer for the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, engaged in the alleged scheme from his work station that’s located inside a sensitive “Information Program Center,’’ a secure facility designed to protect classified information, according to the indictment.

He’s accused of creating online accounts for sale of the counterfeit bags on eBay, Poshmark, and Mercari, using his State Department computer, and then providing the login credentials for those accounts to his wife, the indictment says.

Once an online transaction was completed, Zhang is accused of providing the information and a prepaid shipping label to the alleged co-conspirator in Oregon.

The proceeds from sales, which federal prosecutors say occurred from September 2017 through December 2019, were deposited into the couple’s bank accounts in their names at Navy Federal Credit Union and SunTrust Bank, according to the indictment.

Vera Bradley got wind of the alleged scheme and sent a cease-and-desist letter on April 23, 2018, to the alleged Oregon participant, who in turn, emailed Thompson to inform him.

“Ok, I thought this would happen. Stop all shipment,’’ Thompson responded by email to the Oregon alleged accomplice, the indictment says.

Thompson then, according to the indictment, informed his wife by email , “Take all of the listing for VB down. VB has caught you.'’

After that point, Thompson and Zhang are accused of selling counterfeit Vera Bradley merchandise using aliases, the indictment alleges.

Thompson and Zhang made their first appearances in federal court in Seattle, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Potter. The indictment was unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Eugene.

The Office of Special Investigation’s diplomatic security service investigated the case, with help from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

-- Maxine Bernstein

Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com

Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian

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