Andrew Rizzo UPDATE: CoolKicks has released an official statement in response to the arrest of its founder and seizure of sneakers by the LAPD, embedded below. Importantly, there have been no allegations by law enforcement that the seized sneakers are counterfeit.
CoolKicks founder Adeel Shams, who owns multiple sneaker resale stores in Los Angeles as well as a large online business, was raided and arrested by the LAPD yesterday.
To make matters worse, Shams was actually streaming on Whatnot at the time of the raid, even remarking, “Did we just get swatted?” You can find that video – as well as images of the seized sneakers — embedded below.
According to Los Angeles County’s Inmate Information Center, the CoolKicks founder was arrested on the evening of October 2nd and booked by the LAPD’s Bunco/Forgery Division, which specializes in cases related to fraud and counterfeit goods. You can see full details about the arrest by going to the portal (linked above) and typing in Adeel Shams’ name.
Why is this significant? CoolKicks is one of the biggest and most well-known resale platforms in the U.S., existing somewhere between large individual sellers and top-tier networks like StockX — which had a spat with Nike over counterfeit goods not too long ago. The resale market has been down in recent years, and news like this certainly don’t instill confidence.
That being said, those accused are innocent until proven guilty in our country. We’re curious to see how this all plays out.
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