Kansas man admits the laundry detergent he was selling was counterfeit Tide soap

A Kansas man accused of selling fake Tide laundry detergent was fined after admitted to counterfeiting.

Brian E. Glenn, 44, of Baldwin City, pleaded guilty Friday in Douglas County District Court to one misdemeanor count of counterfeiting, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said in a news release. He was sentenced to pay a $1,000 criminal fine and to serve a year of probation.

The case stemmed from an investigation by the consumer protection division of the attorney general’s office, Schmidt said. Investigators found that in April and May 2016, “Glenn possessed bulk containers of liquid that appeared to be soap bearing counterfeit markings resembling Proctor & Gamble’s Tide laundry detergent brand with the intent to distribute in violation of Kansas criminal law.”

The state previously dismissed a felony counterfeiting charge just before the case was set to go to trial, citing the need for further testing of the laundry soap. Law enforcement agents and Procter & Gamble representatives had raided Glenn’s home, where he sold 5-gallon buckets of soap for $35 when the same amount of name-brand Tide would have retailed for about $75.

At the time, his defense attorney said Glenn “made no representations that he was selling Tide soap” and that he described his soap as “Tide like” or “Tide type.”