--- title: "Where to Spot the Fakes: DC’s Crime Museum" id: "23829" type: "post" slug: "where-to-spot-the-fakes-dcs-crime-museum" published_at: "2014-06-26T16:29:40+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T18:23:22+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/06/26/where-to-spot-the-fakes-dcs-crime-museum/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2014/06/26/where-to-spot-the-fakes-dcs-crime-museum.md" excerpt: "The museum just launched a new permanent exhibit featuring a wide array of counterfeit goods from the black market—and gathered them in one place with the help of a number of trade groups." taxonomy_category: - "Ethics" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "counterfeiting" - "cybercrime" - "Safety" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Association CEO / Executive Director" - "C-Level" - "Executive Team" - "For-Profit CEO / President / Owner / Partner" taxonomy_persona: - "Industry Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Where to Spot the Fakes: DC’s Crime Museum The Louis Vuitton bags? Fake. The Les Paul guitars? Also fake. In fact, everything in the Crime Museum’s new exhibit—”Counterfeit Crimes: Are You Part of the Black Market?”—is a totally not-real, fakey-fake-fake counterfeit. Where’d the museum gather all these knockoffs? Easy: A few associations helped collect them. > Companies aren’t the only ones threatened by counterfeit goods. There’s a public safety aspect that poses a real and present danger. The industry groups that helped the Washington DC-based museum assemble the collection include the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC), Underwriters Laboratories, and the Entertainment Software Association, along with a wide array of companies and the National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Coordination Center, a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The goal is twofold—to show off the gear (let’s admit it—a knockoff PlayStation holds a bit of novelty value) and to teach the public about the dangers that go hand-in-hand with the black market. “What many don’t realize is that the counterfeit trade is organized crime on a global scale, and the counterfeiters don’t care who gets hurt. We want the public to understand the real price of counterfeit goods,” IACC President Bob Barchiesi [said in a news release (opens in a new tab)](http://www.eturbonews.com/47282/counterfeit-crimes-are-you-part-black-market) . “We are thrilled to be a part of this gallery—the first of its kind in the United States, following exhibits in Paris and Bangkok.” Many counterfeit products pose dangers for consumers. For example, [The Daily Beast notes (opens in a new tab)](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/06/25/museum-of-fakes-for-a-city-of-fakes.html) , people who take a knock-off version of Viagra may face significant health dangers when they ingest ingredients that are far from FDA-approved—such as rat poison or printer ink. “Companies aren’t the only ones threatened by counterfeit goods,” Barchiesi told *The Daily Beast*. “There’s a public safety aspect that poses a real and present danger.” The new exhibit, [which opened this week (opens in a new tab)](http://www.crimemuseum.org/counterfeit-crimes) , is the museum’s first new exhibit since it opened to the public six years ago. Locals can get more information, including directions and costs, [at the museum’s website (opens in a new tab)](http://www.crimemuseum.org/) . A display of counterfeit Nintendo video games. (via the Crime Museum’s Facebook page) [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#counterfeiting](https://associationsnow.com/tag/counterfeiting/) [#cybercrime](https://associationsnow.com/tag/cybercrime/) [#Safety](https://associationsnow.com/tag/safety/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [VideoUrban Land Institute- Project Recovery: Rebuilding Los Angeles After the January 2025 WildfiresSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/urban-land-institute-project-recovery-rebuilding-los-angeles-after-the-january-2025-wildfires/) - [PodcastAssociations NOW Presents: All for the Love of Chicago: Rethinking the Destination ExperienceSeptember 10, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/10/associations-now-presents-all-for-the-love-of-chicago-rethinking-the-destination-experience/) - [VideoExploring New Frontiers: Leadership, Resilience and the Future of SpaceflightAugust 27, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/27/exploring-new-frontiers-leadership-resilience-and-the-future-of-spaceflight/) - [VideoCharlene Lopez Shares Her Experience at the 2026 ASAE Annual Meeting & ExpositionAugust 18, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/08/18/charlene-lopez-shares-her-experience-at-the-2026-asae-annual-meeting-exposition/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2014%2F06%2F26%2Fwhere-to-spot-the-fakes-dcs-crime-museum%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !