Black Country film pirate jailed for two years

A fraudster from the Black Country who lived a life of luxury while selling cheap knock-offs of Hollywood movies and computer games has been jailed for two years for failing to pay back £109,000 in criminal cash.

Steven Adams, who was arrested at a computer fair at Wolverhampton Racecourse, had already been jailed for three years for his illegal firm.

The 40-year-old, of Loweswater Drive, Lower Gornal, had been ordered to pay back the cash by December last year, but failed to hand over a penny.

He was jailed by a district judge at Birmingham Magistrates Court. If he is able to pay some of the money, his sentence will be reduced. If he does not, he will have to spend the full two years behind bars.

Peter Calvert, Wolverhampton's Trading Standards chief, said today: "The judge said he had made no attempt to pay and from the correspondence he had seen it was an attempt to frustrate the confiscation process and that's why he gave him the sentence.

"It's a good sentence and it recognises the fact that the courts won't see their orders defied. In effect, he's in contempt of court and he's been punished for that."

The Proceeds of Crime order will hang over Adams for the rest of his life, meaning any money he comes into would be forfeited.

Adams splashed out on an apartment in Spain, a £25,000 Range Rover, a £14,600 Rolex watch and weight-loss surgery while masterminding the film and software piracy operation. He was caught following a joint investigation between Wolverhampton trading standards and anti-piracy body the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association

Adams was repeatedly found selling copied discs containing Hollywood hits and games, making a profit of around £3 on each sale at fairs as far away as Blackpool.

Adams admitted 41 breaches of trademark legislation over a three-year period and was jailed in November, 2008.

He and his accomplice girlfriend Julie Frendo, aged 33, of Crawford Avenue, Lanesfield, even proudly unveiled new looks in 2007 after spending £4,000 on breast enlargement surgery for her - taking her from a 34C to a 32FF - and £6,000 on a gastric band operation taking him from 22st to under 13st.

He was sentenced at Birmingham Magistrates Court for failing to pay back cash from his ill-gotten gains during a hearing on Thursday.