Si Man Lam
Introduction
Si Man Lam, 43, of Brooklyn, New York, was arrested on August 26, 2026, on a federal criminal complaint charging her with trafficking in and conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods and conspiring to commit money laundering — a scheme, prosecutors allege, that moved counterfeit luxury watches from China through the New York area and onto buyers’ wrists via Instagram . The same day, investigators searched her residence and seized approximately $900,000 in cash. She appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was ordered detained .
Background Information
Lam’s arrest is the latest step in a multi-year Customs and Border Protection pipeline of seizures. Between April 2020 and July 2022, CBP seized approximately 74 parcels addressed to the Waterbury, Connecticut residence of Izedin Kimca or his aliases, containing counterfeit Rolex, Audemars, and Panerai watches with a combined estimated manufacturers’ suggested retail price of more than $16 million had they been authentic . Between February 2021 and April 2022, roughly 22 more parcels addressed to the Worcester, Massachusetts residence of Denis and Klevis Nako held counterfeit Rolex and Cartier watches with an estimated MSRP above $3 million . Seven packages addressed to Lam’s own New York residences between February and June 2021 contained approximately 378 counterfeit Rolex, Cartier, and other luxury watches, with an estimated MSRP of about $6.4 million .
Kimca and the Nako brothers ran the storefronts: websites, Instagram pages, and Facebook pages advertising and selling the counterfeit watches imported from China, with undercover investigators buying counterfeit Rolex watches for roughly $200 to $300 per watch . Between January 2021 and April 2024, more than $800,000 moved from the accounts connected to those three to Lam, whom investigators identified as the person responsible for shipping the watches sold over Instagram — including several purchased during the undercover operation .
The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation
Charged, not convicted.
The complaint charges Lam with trafficking in and conspiring to traffic in counterfeit goods and services, offenses carrying a maximum of 10 years, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, carrying a maximum of 20 years . The allegations place her inside the operation as more than a courier: the money flows to her exceeded $800,000 across three years, and analysis of accounts associated with her showed more than $2.7 million in payments to freight forwarding companies between December 2020 and October 2025 — the shipping infrastructure of the trade .
Two episodes anchor the government’s account. On April 5, 2024, two days after Kimca, Denis Nako, and Klevis Nako were arrested, agents interviewed Lam at JFK Airport as she arrived from Hong Kong; she claimed she worked as a home health care aide and denied any knowledge of the importation and sale of counterfeit goods — yet the alleged scheme continued, with Lam selling and shipping numerous counterfeit watches until approximately May 2026 . Kimca and the Nako brothers have since pleaded guilty to related charges; Klevis Nako has been sentenced, and Kimca and Denis Nako await sentencing . The case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative under Executive Order 14159, investigated by IRS Criminal Investigation, HSI, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Shan Patel.
Public Reaction and Consequences
The release records no statement from Lam and no defense comment; the reaction on the record is institutional. The immediate consequences are concrete: arrest, a court-authorized search that removed approximately $900,000 in cash from her residence, and a detention order from Magistrate Judge Vatti — she is held pending the case’s progress rather than living at liberty in Brooklyn . The complaint’s allegations now attach to her name publicly, alongside the documented 2024 JFK interview in which she denied knowledge of a trade the government says she kept running for two more years . The Justice Department notes that a complaint is only a charge, not evidence of guilt, and that a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt .
Current Status
Lam has been charged and detained. She was arrested August 26, 2026, ordered detained by Magistrate Judge Vatti, and faces maximum terms of 10 and 20 years on the two charged conspiracies if convicted . The release does not state whether an indictment has since replaced the complaint, whether bail review is planned, or whether she has retained counsel; her three alleged associates have pleaded guilty and are at various sentencing stages .
Impact on Their Career/Life
Detention and a $900,000 cash seizure are the documented setbacks; the alleged $2.7 million paid to freight forwarders and the $800,000 received from the scheme’s accounts describe the scale of the operation the complaint ties to her . The release describes no lawful occupation for Lam beyond the home-health-aide claim she made at JFK in 2024, so the on-record impact is custody, the seizure, and a public charging document alleging she was the shipping arm of a counterfeit ring whose storefronts sold fake Rolex watches at a few hundred dollars each while the seizures’ sticker values ran into the tens of millions .
Sources
- U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Connecticut, “New York Woman Charged with Trafficking Counterfeit Luxury Watches Imported from China”, August 28, 2026 — source