Worthing man ordered to repay £41,000 made in counterfeit sales

A Worthing man has been ordered to repay more than £41,000 made from selling fake DVDs and computer games online.
Shah Rahman made more than £41,000 by selling fake DVDs and computer gamesShah Rahman made more than £41,000 by selling fake DVDs and computer games
Shah Rahman made more than £41,000 by selling fake DVDs and computer games

A raid on the home of 38-year-old Shah Rahman in Queen Street, Tarring Road, by Trading Standards officers from West Sussex County Council found more than 820 DVDs and 51 counterfeit Nintendo games.

Mr Rahman, 38, was convicted and sentenced at Chichester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, November 26, of four charges of breaching the Trade Marks Act.

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The total amount he was ordered to repay under the Proceeds of Crime Act was £41,076.99. He was also given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to carry out 280 hours of community service.

Lionel Barnard, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services with responsibility for Trading Standards, said: “This is another great result for the trading standards team and for consumers of West Sussex. It also supports our legitimate businesses who are selling genuine items.

“This one case alone cost the industry nearly £6,000. It’s easy at this time of year for shoppers to look for cheap bargains but our message is clear. If it looks too good to be true, it almost certainly always is.

“We will continue our zero tolerance approach to rogue traders.”

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Officers from West Sussex Trading Standards service launched an investigation into Mr Rahman – who sold through eBay, Play and Amazon – following complaints from a member of the public earlier this year.

He was selling the DVDs and games for between £10 and £12 each through online outlets.

Following the raid, the seized items were sent to the Federation Against Copyright Theft which confirmed they were counterfeit. Officials from FACT said each counterfeit DVD cost the industry £7.25.

Anyone who wants to report concerns to Trading Standards can do so via www.westsussex.gov.uk/ts report.