Dorset counterfeit record seller ordered to pay further compensation
Richard Hutter admitted offences under the Trade Marks Act
A counterfeit vinyl record seller, investigated by Dorset Trading Standards, has been ordered to pay nearly ÂŁ230,000 in further compensation.
Richard Hutter, who traded as 'Vinyl Groove' was found to be selling items fraudulently back in 2020.
He admitted 14 counts under the Trade Marks Act, the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Bournemouth Crown Court was told he'd benefitted from the crimes to the amount of more than ÂŁ1.2 million.
Hutter was ordered in April 2023, to repay ÂŁ373,589.64 within three months, or face a three month jail term.
He paid the compensation in July 2023, but Trading Standards then found discrepancies in payments, leading them to believe he might have had undisclosed assets.
Dorset Council's Accredited Financial Investigator began a new confiscation investigation into his finances, which found Mr Hutter had assets of ÂŁ229,962.50 that were not declared at the previous hearing.
At a further hearing at Bournemouth Crown Court last week (16th October), he was ordered to pay this additional sum within three months or face a three-year default sentence.
The money from proceeds of crime is reinvested by Dorset Council into further disruption and asset recovery work, and to help fund local crime-fighting priorities for the benefit of the community.
Cllr Gill Taylor, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Housing said:
“When our Trading Standards team investigates cases where the perpetrator has made significant sums of money from their crimes, we will always seek to recover this through confiscation. If future assets are identified, we can apply to the courts to seize these until all the benefit from the crime has been recovered.
“Unfortunately, counterfeiting is often seen by criminals as a low-risk, high-reward crime. It is often linked to money laundering and can be used to help fund other serious crimes. It damages the UK economy, undermines the interests of legitimate businesses, and pushes up the cost to consumers of buying good quality genuine items. It is not a victimless crime.
“We are extremely pleased with this result, and I’d like to thank everyone involved for their hard work.”