A trader from Bath and North East Somerset has been sentenced for thirteen offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and on September 5th, 2016, a confiscation order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, following an investigation by the Council’s Trading Standards team.
James Gunter, 33, of Timsbury Road, Farmborough, pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court to thirteen offences under the Trade Mark Act 1994 at an earlier hearing (January 8th, 2016) and asked for 21 other offences to be taken into account.
Following an investigation by Bath and North East Somerset Trading Standards team, Mr Gunter, trading as Car Style Direct, admitted selling counterfeit car accessories and merchandise on eBay and via his personal website. A warrant was executed by the Trading Standards team and over 8,000 counterfeit items were seized bearing counterfeit markings for Ford, Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Land Rover and Overfinch products.
Mr Gunter was sentenced to twelve months’ imprisonment suspended for two years, 240 hours of unpaid work, an electronic tag and curfew from 8 pm to 8 am for nine months and a two-year supervision order at Bristol Crown Court on July 19th.
Following a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Bristol Crown Court on September 5th, 2016, the criminal benefit to Mr Gunter was found to be in the sum of £210,751. A confiscation order was made by His Honour Judge Lambert of £1,587, based on this being the amount available to Mr Gunter at this time. Mr Gunter was given thirty days to pay and will have to serve 28 days imprisonment should he fail to do so. If Mr Gunter does come into money in the future, he may have to account for what he owes to the state.
Councillor Martin Veal (Conservative, Bathavon North), Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “The Council is committed to ensuring that traders operating in Bath and North East Somerset are doing so honestly and legally. Studies have shown that online piracy like this is on the increase and the Government has estimated it loses £1.3 billion in unpaid tax from the sale of counterfeit goods.
“This is a very serious crime that affects us all and we will always look to prosecute any breaches of trading standard laws. I would like to thank our officers for their hard work on this investigation, which has helped to protect online shoppers, both in our area and elsewhere, and I hope this case serves as a deterrent to others.”
Judge Julian Lambert prohibited Mr Gunter from trading on the internet for two years and said: “The protection of Trade Marks is vital to a healthy economy and that is why the law intervenes.” He also made a forfeiture order for the items seized.”