Caerphilly Trading Standards have issued a warning for residents to be on their guard against fake goods.
The warning comes after two men were prosecuted by Caerphilly County Borough Council for selling counterfeit goods and tobacco.
Darren Greenhaf, 40 of Heol Gwaun Rhos, Caerphilly, was taken to court following an investigation by Trading Standards team.
Greenhaf was found to be operating an online clothing business called ‘Back to the Future’, selling printed t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts.
The clothing had the names and logos of music stars such as One Direction, Justin Bieber and The Wanted – all without the authority of the owners of those registered trademarks.
A warrant was executed at Greenhaf’s home and business address in August 2012 – and a haul of pre-printed counterfeit garments were seized, along with pre-cut vinyl transfers and equipment such as computers, vinyl cutters and heat presses.
Greenhaf appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court on September 8 and was charged with ten offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994.
He pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined a total of £750. He was also ordered to pay costs to the council of £2,198.96 and a victim surcharge of £20.
The court was told hos Trading Standards discovered that between February 2012 and May 2012, Greenhaf had made a total of £4,537.01 from the sale of 309 counterfeit One Direction garments alone. In addition, he made £1,722.86 from the sale of 108 counterfeit Justin Bieber garments and a further £59.96 from the sale of four counterfeit The Wanted garments.
Also during the course of the investigation, Trading Standards discovered that on one particular day, Greenhaf had a total of 61,229 clothing items listed for sale online.
In a separate case, a shopkeeper was prosecuted recently following an investigation into the sale of counterfeit tobacco.
Trading Standards carried out an inspection at Walters Convenience Store in Cwmfelinfach in May this year.
Fake Amber Leaf hand rolling tobacco was being offered for sale alongside genuine pouches of the tobacco.
The fake tobacco was priced at £10 while the genuine tobacco was priced at £16.
John Godfrey Hale, 62, of Cwmfelinfach, a partner in the business, appeared at Newport Magistrates’ Court recently, charged and admitted charges under the Trade Marks Act 1984.
He was fined £300 and was ordered to pay £496.30 and a £30 victim surcharge.
Cllr David Poole, Cabinet Member for Community and Leisure Services said, “Our Trading Standards team are extremely proactive in working to tackle the sale and supply of counterfeit items. Not only does the sale of such items affect customers, many of whom are duped into believing the products are genuine but legitimate manufacturers selling genuine items are also seriously affected by the trade in counterfeit goods.”
He added: “Counterfeiting is a serious crime which can have a significant impact upon our communities, and people should be seriously mindful of the real effects of purchasing counterfeit goods in that such behaviour only continues to fund people that undermine our communities.”