Bootleg Special: Dubs Edition

Suspiciously low-priced T-shirts that Warrior fans snapped up during the team’s championship run probably won’t survive the first wash cycle, according to federal officials.

Seeking to keep counterfeiters from biting into NBAprofits, Homeland Security agents in San Francisco announced Monday that they seized almost $500,000 worth of bogus basketball memorabilia in a monthlong operation.

They said vendors throughout the Bay Area marketed the goods to often unwitting Warriors fans — though some fans knowingly buy knockoffs because of the hefty price tags on the official stuff.

Beginning with the Western Conference finals on May 19, the customs agents cracked down on roughly 100 vendors — some repeat offenders — who sold more than 14,000 items ranging from T-shirts with faulty stitching to hats with tags missing the official NBA holograms, officials said.

The estimated value of $500,000 represented the suggested retail price for bona fide merchandise.

Tatum King, deputy special agent in charge of investigations, advised fans to second-guess great deals.

“We ask the buyer beware, because when you’re getting a T-shirt three for $10, that’s a clue,” he said. “If it’s too good to be true, it usually is.”

Via - http://sfgate.com/crime/article/Feds-Counterfeiters-made-splash-on-Warriors-6356600.php