MIAMI, FL — Millions in fake jewelry with designer names such as Cartier, Chanel, Gucci and Rolex were seized from a Miami area jewelry store and the owners were arrested.

Like Miami Patch on Facebook Police estimated the retail value of the phony jewelry to be worth more than $31 million, according to Detective Alvaro Zabaleta of the Miami-Dade Police Department.

Sign up for our free Daily Newsletters and Breaking News Alerts for the Miami, FL Patch The owners of The Lord of the Rings jewelry store — 57-seven-year-old Tania Varona and Jimmy Hernandez — were each charged with counterfeiting goods in excess of $20,000 as police seized merchandise from the business at 6230 SW 8 Street earlier this month.

Tania Varona courtesy of Miami-Dade Police Department The investigation was conducted by the Northside District of the Miami-Dade Police Department along with Homeland Security Investigations. Jimmy Hernandez courtesy of Miami-Dade Police Department "To an ordinary and prudent person, the items that were being sold appear to be identical to the authentic brands products," according to arrest documents. Police are planning to display some of the thousands of phony items during a news conference on Friday in which investigators plan to share tips on how to avoid falling prey to counterfeit goods. In the case of The Lord of the Rings, investigators pointed to the low prices of the merchandise as a sign that something was amiss.

Varona of the 8900 block of West Flagler Street and Hernandez, whose address was not available, were accused of selling the fake jewelry for about 10 percent of the price that authentic goods by the same designers would cost, according to arrest documents.

Other fake goods looked to be Luis Vuitton, Bvlgari Tous, Van Clef & Arpels, Cartier, Tory, Michael Kors, Dita, Hermes, Movado, Tiffany & Co. and Christian Dior. In addition to the fake jewelry, investigators said that the store sold sold phony Ray Ban sunglasses.

"The sale of counterfeit goods greatly impacts retail merchants and the Miami-Dade Police Department remains committed to the protection of our consumers," explained Detective Marjorie Eloi of the Miami-Dade Police Department. According to U.S. officials, the trafficking of counterfeit goods is part of a global, multibillion-dollar criminal enterprise that has serious health hazards while the International Anti-Counterfeiting Coalition, estimates that businesses lose $600 to $700 billion a year as a result of counterfeit goods.

