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The owner of a high-end boutique in Palm Beach was arrested after authorities say she was busted selling counterfeit Chanel bags in a sting operation at her store.
Arlene Bonner, 64, owns Couture & More on Royal Poinciana Way, NBC affiliate WPTV reported. She was arrested Wednesday on a charge of selling or offering for sale counterfeit goods or services, which is a third-degree felony.
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WATCH HEREA probable cause affidavit details that it was on Feb. 4 that investigators received a “reliable and verified” tip about “designer handbags in the rear storage area that were suspected of being counterfeit.”
On Feb. 12, an undercover detective conducted the operation dubbed “Botox & Bags” and went into the store, where at the back, a sign on a door allegedly read, “Back Room Sale.”
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Inside were six Chanel bags behind a display case, all marked with the brand’s logo, the affidavit reads.
When the undercover detective inquired if the pink one was for sale, "Bonner stated that the handbags belonged to a person that had done a 'trunk show' and he was supposed to pick up the handbags the following day," the affidavit said.
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Bonner allegedly also told the detective to not say where she bought the purse from, and told her, “if you tell people the handbags are real, that is how you get into trouble.”
The detective purchased the pink bag for $635. Police said a real Chanel bag sold by an authorized dealer has an estimated retail value of $7,000.
Later, an authenticator deemed the bag was fake.
The other five bags would have sold at Couture & More for $3,000, the affidavit reads, and have an estimated value of $35,000 from an authorized Chanel dealer.
"Bonner is selling Chanel merchandise that are of a quality that a regular person would believe they were the genuine item," the arrest report said.
A representative from the company also reportedly told authorities that the suspect has never had the right or authority to use the Chanel monogram or any other trademarks.
Bonner was later arrested but released from custody Wednesday evening after posting $5,000 bail.
She did not want to go on camera but told WPTV that she was sorry and made a mistake.
