Newegg isn't the company that is threatening the news site. It's D&H Distributing, who allegedly supplied the chips to Newegg.
I haven't found any article that says how D&H Distributing was identified as the supplier. If they didn't actually supply the chips, D&H is within their rights to complain.
Newegg might share some of the blame, depending on the quality of the counterfeiting. If the chip was shipped in what looked like a realistic Intel box, then they wouldn't have noticed unless they opened the boxes and checked the contents.
To Newegg's credit, they are providing replacements quickly and assisting Intel in the investigation.
Fake Processor Story Taking on a Life of its Own
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It seems that the NewEgg Fake Processor story we broke over the weekend has really taken on a life of its own. Dozens of news outlets have picked up the story, some even have added details and information on other consumers that have received counterfeit processors. Here is a preliminary list of sites with additional coverage:
Newegg Selling Fake Intel CPUs
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After talking to several sources on this, it seems that Newegg was in fact selling counterfeit Intel processors.
A fake Intel Core i7-920 was delivered to the hands of HardForum user Vincent Waller in Oregon, AKA "Nix." He reported his find to other HardForum users Thursday afternoon.
From the pictures below, supplied by Vincent, you can see that someone did a fairly good job of hiding the obviousness of what was being traded off as a genuine Intel processor.