Shopkeeper jailed for selling fake DVDs
A Black Country shopkeeper who cost the film and music industry an estimated £310,000 was today behind bars after admitting making and selling more than 40,000 counterfeit DVDs and CDs.
A Black Country shopkeeper who cost the film and music industry an estimated £310,000 was today behind bars after admitting making and selling more than 40,000 counterfeit DVDs and CDs.
Sameer Husseiny was jailed for three-and-a-half years after a "professional" set up of computer equipment and disc duplicators was discovered at his Dudley store.
Trading standards officers raided Ace Disks in High Street and found the equipment along with thousands of counterfeit discs.
Father-of-three Husseiny, aged 52, of Woodland Street, Smethwick, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court, sitting at The Waterfront, Brierley Hill, yesterday.
He admitted selling fake DVDs and CDs for as little as £1 each from the shop, the flats above and on eBay, costing the entertainment industry an average of £7.35 per disc.
The operation was first uncovered when Sandwell trading standards officers raided the shop on May 3, 2007, following information gathered at Great Bridge Market. They found more than 30,000 fake discs, along with computer equipment and four disc duplicators.
While on bail for those offences, trading standards officers again raided the store in December 2009, when they found an additional 10,000 discs and two new disc duplicators.
Judge Amjad Nawaz said Husseiny's "brazenness" was one of the aggravating features of the case.
"It was a large-scale operation. It was a professional set-up, which shows a degree of persistence on your part," he told Husseiny.
"You were so brazen that you set up a second operation from the same premises after being caught once."
Mr Alexander Stein, defending, said Husseiny - a "genuine film fan" - knew it had been a stupid thing to do. However, he added that he disagreed with the estimated cost to the industry.
"They are assuming that someone who is willing to pay £1 or £2 for a fraudulent DVD, if those were not available, would go to another retailer and pay £14 for the same film," he said.
Judge Nawaz said the impact on honest retailers must be considered.
