Four Italian nationals accused of operating electronics counterfeit ring: prosecutors

Four Italian nationals accused of operating an electronics counterfeit ring worth more than $570,000 will remain in jail until at least their next court dates, prosecutors said.

Salvatore Derosa, 50; Simone Signorelli, 23; Vincenzo Demartino, 49; and Luca Demartino, 25; all from Naples, Italy, each recently appeared in First Appearance Court charged with possession of counterfeit items with intent to sell-value exceeding $500,000, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 11:27 a.m. May 7, Elmhurst police responded to the 400 block of North Oak Street for a report of a suspicious vehicle.

A white Kia SUV, later determined to be driven by Signorelli, pulled up to an individual who was in his driveway and the driver offered to sell him a cell phone. After the individual refused the offer, Signorelli left, according to the release.

An Elmhurst police officer observed the Kia exiting the residential area and followed it to a residence located in the 2N300 block of Diane Avenue in Glen Ellyn, where Signorelli exited the vehicle and entered the residence.

Authorities later determined that the four defendants all lived at the Diane Avenue residence.

About 9:35 a.m. May 8, Vincenzo Demartino exited the residence, entered a Jeep Compass and drove to Forest Avenue in Roselle where he allegedly offered to sell landscape workers AirPods for $50-$60.

The workers allegedly declined the offer, so Demartino’s left and traveled to Ardmore Avenue in Roselle where he stopped near a parked landscape truck and again attempted to sell AirPods to a landscape worker for $60 but was again declined, authorities said.

A short time later, near Roselle Road and Main Street, an Elmhurst police officer stopped a Jeep. Police allegedly found numerous counterfeit items including five Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, 19 Apple AirPod Pros, three Apple battery packs, one Apple iPad, two Apple AirPod Maxs, three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Cell Phones and one Dyson hair dryer. Vincenzo Demartino was arrested at this time, according to the release.

About 9:59 a.m. the same day, police saw Signorelli exit the Diane Avenue residence carrying a large black duffel bag. He entered the same Kia SUV involved in the May 7 incident, stopped briefly at a Hanover Park residence before returning to Diane Street, according to the release.

As Signorelli was allegedly involved in the May 7, incident, Elmhurst police stopped him on Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights. Police allegedly found numerous counterfeit items including two Apple AirPod Maxs, five Apple iPhones, one Apple iPad, 16 Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple Watches and two Samsung Galaxy S25s. Signorelli was arrested at this time, authorities said.

About 10:39 a.m. the same day, Salvatore Derosa left the Diane Avenue residence carrying several bags, which he loaded into a Hyundai Tucson. Elmhurst police made contact with Derosa and observed bags full of what were purported to be Apple brand products in plain view in the back seat, according to the release. Derosa was arrested.

When searching the Hyundai, police found more than $45,000 in cash and numerous counterfeit items including 21 Apple AirPod Pros, four Apple iPhones, five Apple Watches, one Apple AirPod Max, one Apple iPad and three Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultras, according to the release.

Later that day, Luca Demartino left the residence alone in a Nissan Rogue. Police stopped him and allegedly found more than $90,000 in cash. He was arrested at this time.

In addition to the cash and merchandise found in the defendants’ vehicles, authorities recovered 767 counterfeit items in the Diane Avenue residence with an approximate value of $519,433. Total value of the counterfeit merchandise is estimated to be approximately $573,237.

“Counterfeiting is a serious offense which can have devastating effects on our local economy and leaves us all to bear the cost,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “Shoppers end up paying for inferior products, employers and businesses lose sales which can translate to lost wages and lost jobs which in turn can result in reduced economic investment in our communities. I would urge everyone, if you are going to be making any major purchases, particularly electronics, which can be small, but pricy items, please do so from a reputable merchant and not from someone who approaches you on the street.”

“The public needs to know there are criminals out working full-time each day to scam the innocent out of their hard-earned money,” Elmhurst Chief of Police Michael McLean said in the release. “If a deal seems too good to be true, it almost always is.”

The next court date for Derosa and Signorelli is scheduled for June 2. The next court date for Vincenzo and Luca Demartino is scheduled for June 17.