Two market traders from Manchester who sold counterfeit goods at a car boot sale near Mere have been ordered to pay combined costs of over a thousand pounds and given a total of 400 hours of unpaid work.
Ian Geddes and Phillip Pinfield, both from Openshaw, were working on a stall at the Cheshire Lounge car boot sale in 2010 when they sold a number of counterfeit CDs and DVDs to an investigator form the British Phonographic Industry over a three-month period.
Officers from Cheshire East Council’s consumer protection and investigation team then stepped in and were sold counterfeit clothing by the pair on two separate occasions.
Both were arrested under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and further counterfeit goods were seized from their home addresses.
The total retail value of the items seized from the stall and home addresses totalled £13,000.
Mr Geddes, who is 38 and lives on Buckly Street, and 48 year old Mr Pinfield, who lives on Salcombe Road, appeared before Macclesfield Magistrates on Friday, May 11.
They both pleaded guilty to charges of selling counterfeit goods and having counterfeit goods in their possession during the course of a business.
Each man was ordered to pay £660.50 in costs and required to do 200 hours of unpaid work.
Councillor Rachel Bailey, Cabinet member with responsibility for communities and regulatory services, said: “Selling counterfeit goods not only misleads consumers, it also harms our local economy by taking sales away from legitimate traders.
“Cheshire East Council is committed to creating an open and honest trading environment for residents and businesses, ensuring people shopping in the Borough have confidence in what they are buying.
“Officers will be visiting markets over the summer looking for those who are selling counterfeit goods.”
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