Nigel Booth sentenced after selling counterfeit goods on Facebook

Beware of scams

Nigel Booth, 40, from Turf Hill, who was caught selling over £20,000 worth of counterfeit goods on Facebook was sentenced on Thursday 6 June.

Booth pleaded guilty to 15 offences under Section 92(1)(c) of the 1994 Trade Marks Act and was ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 costs, as well as being made the subject of a 12 month supervision order.

Bury and Rochdale Magistrates Court heard how Booth used the social media site to offload goods including Ugg boots, Adidas tracksuits and Calvin Klein perfume for less than half the retail price of genuine products.

More than three carloads of goods were taken from Booth’s address during a dawn raid in December 2011, with police and trading standards officers also removing Nike trainers, Pandora Jewellery, Beats by Dr Dre headphones and Superdry coats.

Councillor Jacqueline Beswick, Cabinet Member for Internal and Environmental Services, said: “I’m delighted that our trading standards team have secured a conviction in this case. Counterfeit goods are a blight on our economy and they take money away from honest local businesses which are often already struggling.”

Mark Widdup, Director of Economy and Environment at Rochdale Council, said: “Most offenders don’t realise that we are able to monitor social media channels if we suspect any criminality. We take the selling of counterfeit goods very seriously and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action, regardless of whether it is against an individual or organisation.

If anyone suspects that they have witnessed the sale of counterfeit goods, they should contact the council via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 040506 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.