Man fined for possession of counterfeit clothing

Possession of counterfeit clothing he was planning to sell has cost a Rhondda Cynon Taf man over £500.

Paul Dalglish Roscoe, 26, of no fixed abode, found himself in Rhondda Magistrate’s Court this month following the seizure of counterfeit Henleys, McKenzie and Stone Island clothing during a police search at the Brynna home of his girlfriend last year.

Officers who seized the items handed them over to Rhondda Cynon Taf Council’s Trading Standards officers, who went to work with the clothing labels and their agents to establish if the goods were counterfeit or not.

Some of the items were found to be genuine and were returned to Roscoe. However, others were found to be illegal copies, leading to him being charged with six offences under the Trade Marks Act of 1994, namely possession of counterfeit clothing with the intention of selling it.

Roscoe admitted the offences when he appeared in court and said he had been storing the clothes at his girlfriend’s home, but the offences were nothing to do with her.

He said he had bought the items off of the Internet and claimed, in his defence, he did not know they were counterfeit.

After hearing both sides of the case, the magistrates fined him £200 and also ordered Roscoe to ay £300 charges and a victims surcharge of £15.

David Jones, Head of Community Protection at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council, said: “This is an important case as it shows we do take proactive action in order to stop offenders and, subsequently, protect the consumer and genuine traders.

“The sad fact is there are people out there looking to make money out of others by selling counterfeit goods. This affects the rights and confidence of the consumer and also takes vital trade away from legitimate businesses who do sell the genuine article.

“That is why the work of Trading Standards is so important, ensuring we protect our residents from fraudsters and also support the legitimate industry.

“In this case, Roscoe said he bought the items from the Internet and did not know they were counterfeit, which means he did not get what he thought he was paying for – again, another example of why it is so important to be a responsible consumer and use reputable traders.”