Payback time for fake-DVD stallholder

counterfeit DVDs seized in the raids

A GLODWICK counterfeiter has been ordered to pay back nearly £50,000 of his ill-gotten gains.

Usman Khadam, of Savoy Street, created thousands of fake DVDs which he then sold from a stall on Tommyfield Market and a shop in Glodwick.

After being successfully prosecuted by Oldham Council, he has been ordered to forfeit the cash and faces a further 15 months in prison if he doesn’t pay back the money within six months.

In March, Khadam was jailed for 21 months by Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, admitting to selling and making counterfeit DVDs.

Following a test purchase, trading standards officers raided Khadam’s market stall and shop on November 15, 2008 and seized 1,973 counterfeit DVDs.

Officers also seized thousands of blank discs, 500 DVD cases, two boxes of DVD sleeves, bags of printer cartridges, a computer tower, a laptop, two scanners, a printer and DVD writers.

Following Khadam’s conviction, Oldham Trading Standards Department, in conjunction with Greater Manchester Police, initiated proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover monies that he had made from his counterfeiting activities. On September 27, a forfeiture hearing in relation to cash seized on the day of the raid was held at Oldham magistrates court under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

The hearing was uncontested and an award was made in full for the £11,234 plus interest.

On November 11, a confiscation hearing was held at Minshull Street Crown Court to determine how much Khadam had illegally benefited financially from his crimes.

A confiscation order was made by the judge in the sum of £47,920.50 to be paid back in full or Khadam faces further jail time.

Councillor Rod Blyth, cabinet member for community safety and public protection, said: “This confiscation order shows that anyone who tries to make a living from counterfeiting will be pursued through the courts and will eventually have to pay for their crimes.

“Oldham Council is committed to cracking down on counterfeiting as people who sell fake goods are basically ripping off citizens who think they are buying the real thing but have in fact purchased a cheap and inferior product.”