Here’s the Story Behind That Viral Sneaker Con Arrest Picture

Sneaker Con made a stop in San Jose, California last Saturday and Sunday for Sneaker Con Bay Area. And despite its usual selection of rare shoes and celebrity appearances—even PJ Tucker was in the building—there was another incident that managed to steal the attention on social media. 

An image of a pair of handcuffed men being questioned by a police officer was reposted on a number of accounts throughout the weekend. There were claims that the two had been caught selling fake sneakers, and another image showed a stack of the said-to-be shoes, notably Travis Scott’s Air Jordan 1 and Cactus Plant Flea Market’s Air VaporMax collaborations. Although the photo was widely circulated, little was known about the validity of the claims against the men. Now, Sneaker Con co-founder Yu-Ming Wu is confirming that the men were in fact caught peddling counterfeits.

“Our LEGIT team visits all vendors as they set up. A few shoes [the sellers] were showing didn’t look good so they looked into it deeper,” Wu said, referring to the LEGIT authentication service offered at all Sneaker Con events.

“It was discovered that the merchant in question was indeed selling fake sneakers,” Wu said. “We confiscated the fraudelent sneakers, informed the police, and turned over all evidence.” According to Wu, the two men were handcuffed and later released, but not before handing over their phones, which he says police intend to search to determine if they were defrauding other customers.

Wu says that while it’s not the first time fake shoes have been discovered at an event, his team has never had to go to the extent of calling the police, a decision that was made because they believed the two men were operating an ongoing scam.