Trader guilty in Dudley counterfeit DVD racket

Thomas Fellows was company secretary at Sinew Enterprises Ltd, which his older stepbrother Simon Newby ran as a director.

The company operated a 'counterfeiting factory' in Dudley and used various websites to sell pirated films and television series to customers around the world, raking in thousands of pounds every week.

Between October 2008 and April 2010, one of the websites received $404,620 (£242,055), all of which went straight into Newby's account.

Fellows, aged 28, of Clarence Street, Bilston, told a previous hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court that his involvement with the business was limited to processing orders and sending out invoices.

But a jury yesterday (THURS) found him guilty of all 10 charges he faced – five of making counterfeit DVDs and another five of selling them.

Newby, who is in his 30s and was said to have been the 'brains' of the outfit, had previously pleaded guilty to numerous charges relating to the making and selling of counterfeit DVDs.

Both are due be sentenced on June 23.

The pair were arrested following raids by trading standards officers from Dudley Borough Council at both the business address, in Dudley Road, Brierley Hill, and Newby's home, in Bicton Drive, Brierley Hill.

Ms Sonal Dashani, defending Fellows, told a previous hearing that none of the documents recovered that related to the DVD business contained his name. The court also heard that he believed it was not illegal to sell the DVDs.

Giving evidence, Fellows previously told the court he was first employed to work for his stepbrother's legitimate car-cleaning business.

He said he began as a travelling valet and then worked packing cleaning products, before the DVD side of the business began taking up most of his time.

He added that he had only agreed to become company secretary – a decision he called 'silly' – because a bank had asked Newby for one when setting up an account.