Amazon-L’Oréal Lawsuit Targets Counterfeit CeraVe Sellers

Amazon and L’Oréal USA filed a joint lawsuit in November 2025 against a group of sellers accused of listing and selling counterfeit CeraVe skincare products on Amazon’s marketplace. Amazon blocked the selling accounts tied to the scheme and issued refunds to customers who had bought the fakes.¹

What the Complaint Alleges

The joint complaint says the defendants illegally listed and sold counterfeit versions of CeraVe, one of L’Oréal’s most popular skincare lines. L’Oréal is enrolled in Amazon’s Brand Registry and Project Zero anti-counterfeiting programs, and it identified the fakes through multiple test purchases that confirmed the goods were not authentic.²

Thomas Barden, senior vice president and head of corporate security and brand protection at L’Oréal USA, said in a statement: “Following an extensive investigation, we joined forces with Amazon to identify and dismantle a group responsible for selling counterfeit CeraVe products to unsuspecting shoppers. We value Amazon’s partnership and remain relentless in our efforts to protect consumers and eliminate counterfeit products wherever they emerge.”¹

Neither company has publicly named the individual defendants. The court in which the case was filed has not been disclosed in available reporting, and the record does not specify which particular CeraVe products were counterfeited or how many units were involved.

What Amazon Did for Buyers

Amazon says it blocked the selling accounts connected to the counterfeit CeraVe listings and proactively refunded customers who bought the fake items, rather than waiting for buyers to complain.¹ If you bought CeraVe from a third-party seller on Amazon around this period and received a refund without requesting one, that is the likely reason.

Two Other Actions Announced the Same Day

Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit announced the L’Oréal lawsuit on November 24, 2025, alongside two other enforcement actions.¹

A lawsuit against individuals and companies in China and the United States who allegedly obtained invalid trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, used them to gain access to the Amazon Brand Registry, and then filed false infringement notices to get legitimate sellers’ listings removed.¹
A joint investigation with Nintendo into a ring running fraudulent seller accounts to sell counterfeit Nintendo-branded products. The investigation led to the seizure of counterfeit goods and the arrest of two individuals by law enforcement.¹

Why Fake Skincare Is a Health Issue, Not Just a Wallet Issue

Counterfeit cosmetics have tested positive for lead, beryllium, dangerous bacteria, and DEHP, a chemical classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a probable human carcinogen.³ The volume in circulation is significant. In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized more than 500,000 counterfeit personal-care items, including cosmetics, skincare, soap, and toothpaste. Because authorities are estimated to intercept less than 2.3 percent of counterfeit goods entering the country, the actual annual volume could exceed 21 million items.⁴

A Wirecutter investigation illustrates how routinely fakes reach shoppers. All twelve beauty products the outlet purchased from third-party sellers on Amazon, eBay, Shein, and Walmart were confirmed as counterfeits through lab testing. One lip treatment bought from an Amazon third-party seller showed a 20 percent chemical difference from the authentic version and signs of potential microbial growth. Third-party sellers account for more than 60 percent of Amazon’s sales, which is a big part of why fakes keep finding their way onto the platform.⁴

How Amazon Is Trying to Close the Gap

The L’Oréal lawsuit was brought through Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit, a team of former prosecutors, police officers, investigators, and data analysts that Amazon established in 2020. Since its launch, the CCU has pursued more than 24,000 investigations through lawsuits and criminal referrals, filed over 200 civil actions, and helped hold 65 individuals accountable in court.⁵ Amazon reported identifying, seizing, and disposing of more than 15 million counterfeit products in 2024, and said its automated systems blocked more than 99 percent of suspected infringing listings before brands flagged them.²

Suing alongside the affected brand is now Amazon’s standard playbook. The company has filed joint counterfeiting lawsuits with Valentino, Salvatore Ferragamo, Cartier, 3M, Gillette, General Electric, Canon, Yeti, and WWE, among others, most of them in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington.²

The End of Commingling

A structural change sits behind these enforcement moves. Under Amazon’s old “commingling” program, identical items from different sellers were pooled together in fulfillment centers under a single barcode, so a customer could receive a unit shipped by any seller of that product regardless of which listing they bought from. That practice made it easy for counterfeit goods to be mixed with authentic inventory and nearly impossible for brands to trace a specific fake back to the seller who supplied it.⁶

Amazon announced the program’s termination at its September 2025 Accelerate seller conference, noting that brand owners had collectively spent an estimated $600 million in the prior year on relabeling products to avoid inventory mixing.⁶ Commingling officially ended across all U.S. fulfillment centers on March 31, 2026. Under the new rules, resellers who are not enrolled in Brand Registry must use Amazon-specific barcode labels for every unit, so inventory can be traced to the individual seller who supplied it.⁷

What This Means If You Buy CeraVe on Amazon

The lawsuit does not mean CeraVe on Amazon is broadly unsafe. It means one group of sellers was caught marketing fakes, their accounts were shut down, and buyers were refunded. If you bought CeraVe from a third-party seller and got an unexpected refund, that is likely why. Check the seller name on the listing before ordering, favor listings sold and shipped by Amazon or by L’Oréal directly, and if a product you received looks, smells, or behaves differently from what you have used before, stop using it and report the listing.

1
PYMNTS. Amazon Announces 3 Actions Taken Against Counterfeiters
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Amazon. Amazon Counterfeit Crimes Unit Latest Updates
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New York Department of State. Fake Cosmetics and Their Health Risks
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The New York Times Wirecutter. Counterfeit Beauty Products
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Modern Retail. Inside Amazon’s Counterfeit Crimes Unit
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Modern Retail. Amazon To End Commingling Program
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Amazon Seller Central. Commingling Policy Update