Stourbridge man in court over £260,000 fake clothing racket
A man has admitted a fake clothing racket that could potentially have cost major companies like Apple up to £1m in lost trade.
Ian Guy pleaded guilty to seven charges linked to a business run from the garage of his home that sold counterfeit T-shirts world wide.
Called Guys Tees, it is understood to have dealt with up to £260,000 worth of fake garments between 2010 and 2012.
The scam was uncovered during an investigation spearheaded by Dudley Trading Standards department that ended with the appearance of 37-year-old Guy at Wolverhampton Crown Court this week.
He admitted knowingly carrying on a business called Guy Tees for the fraudulent production, sale and supply of counterfeit goods and their packaging.
Guy from John Corbett Drive, Stourbridge further pleaded guilty to using signs identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, the registered trade mark of the Beatles, the Ramones and Jack Daniels on T-shirts and packaging.
He also pleaded guilty to using the trade mark of Porsche and Yamaha Motor Europe to advertise goods for sale on E-Bay listing pages.
The final charge involved an admission of having Fast T-Jet 2 and DTG K3 garment printers attached to computer equipment specifically designed or adapted for the making of fake trademarks on goods or packaging.
All the offences were committed on or before September 13, 2012, and Guy was remanded on bail until May 27 when he is expected to be sentenced after details of the case have been outlined in full to the court.
Judge Martin Walsh warned him: "The fact that I am granting bail for the preparation of a pre sentence report is no indication of what might happen. All sentencing options are open."
