Man arrested for selling phony luxury goods out of hair salon

The Elegant Beauty Center where Mamadou “Kareem” Diakhoumpa peddled counterfeit goods.Photo: William Miller

A Bronx hair-braiding salon was peddling more than new ‘dos— inside was a hoard of phony Gucci, Versace and Louis Vuitton items for sale, too, authorities say.

The stash came from 12 shipments of counterfeit designer t-shirts, belts and wallets smuggled through JFK Airport by Mamadou “Kareem” Diakhoumpa, according to a Manhattan federal-court complaint.

The scheme unraveled after an undercover investigator working for one of the luxury companies bought what was supposed to be a Louis Vuitton belt for $40 from Diakhoumpa in May, officials say. Real ones go for up to $3,500, officials said.

The item turned out to be a fake.

A month later, an undercover Homeland Security agent went to the store at 1189 Morris Ave. in the Concourse section.

Diakhoumpa was paying the woman who operates the hair-braiding business at the address $600 in cash each month to rent the front of her store to sell his counterfeit goods, according to the complaint.

“ ‘Kareem’ showed Agent-1 a pair of purported True Religion jeans and told Agent-1, in sum and substance, that the “regular prices” for True Religion jeans was $300 but that he would sell them to Agent-1 for $65,” the complaint states.

Diakhoumpa also allegedly sold the undercover DHS agent a fake Louis Vuitton belt and six phony True Religion t-shirts.

He was busted last week. His lawyer, Clay Kaminsky, declined comment.