Peter Picone, owner of Tytronix and Epic International Electronics, has been charged for selling counterfeits to both military and commercial companies. This is just one of a few different cases brought against electronic component brokers over the last few years. There are so many companies out there doing the same thing as Picone, but it takes years to build a case and prosecute so they are not brought to justice often enough. At least this tells the broker community that they better think twice about selling counterfeits or even suspect counterfeits. To read the Department of Justice’s detailed statement click here.
Robb Hammond, founder and president of AERI (American Electronic Resource, Inc.). Founding member and former committee chair of the SAE AS6081 Standard created for the avoidance of counterfeit electronic components. Robb founded AERI in Costa Mesa, California, in 1994 as an independent distributor of hard-to-find, obsolete and allocated electronic components. AERI is AS9120B, ISO 9001:2015 and AS6081 certified, tests to AS6171 standards, and inspects every part in its in-house QC lab before it ships. Robb writes about electronic component shortages, sourcing strategy and counterfeit avoidance.
