Couple guilty of selling counterfeit goods at Great Dorset Steam Fair
The husband and wife have been given suspended prison sentences
A couple have been handed suspended prison sentences after being convicted of selling counterfeit goods at the Great Dorset Steam Fair.
56 year old Mohammed Masood Ali and his wife Kauser Fisa Ali, aged 55 and both from Bolton in Lancashire, admitted nine offences under the Trademarks Act at a previous hearing at Weymouth Magistrates.
They've now been sentenced at Bolton Magistrates, to a 12 month jail term, suspended for 2 years; and ordered to pay £1,118 in costs and victim surcharges.
Mr Ali was also ordered to undertake 300 hours of unpaid work, while Mrs Ali has been given a nighttime curfew for 6 months.
What happened?
A Dorset Council trading standards officer was at the Steam Fair in August 2022 and noticed a large stall in the market area, selling a wide range of counterfeit goods including handbags, purses, hats, trainers and clothing.
With the assistance of staff and security officers from the Steam Fair, approximately 600 items were seized, all of which were later confirmed as counterfeit by the trademark representatives.
The court was told that if these items had been genuine their value would have been over £290,000.
Mrs Ali claimed that she didn’t know the items were fake and didn’t know anything about counterfeits.
However, checks by trading standards revealed that Mrs Ali had pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit goods in July 2020 at Greater Manchester Magistrates Court.
She was described as a prolific trader in fake goods during that case.
Cllr Laura Beddow, Dorset Council’s Portfolio Holder for Culture, Communities and Customer Services, said:
“The sale of counterfeit goods can undermine the reputation of the brands they are imitating but also severely damage businesses selling the genuine items. Anyone caught selling fake goods in Dorset will face robust legal action by the Council’s trading standards service.”