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A COUNTY ANTRIM businessman who ran an international counterfeiting operation from his garage in Templepatrick has been given a suspended jail sentence at Laganside Courts today.
Michael White (47) from Ballymartin Road, Templepatrick, ordered fake Ford car accessories from China and sold them on eBay to customers around the world.
Police financial investigators calculate he sold £112,000 (about €133,000) worth of items, including mud flaps, car mats and covers bearing distinctive Ford branding over a four-year period between January 2012 and January 2016.
White admitted five charges of selling goods bearing an unauthorised trademark and one charge of converting criminal property. He was given a two-year sentence, fully suspended.
In late 2015, police received a complaint about White’s business activities from the Ford Motor Company which had previously warned him to desist.
White had ordered mud flaps, car mats and car dust covers bearing different types of distinctive Ford branding from a manufacturer in China. He shipped them back to Templepatrick from where he operated a site on eBay and sold them to customers around the world.
When detectives from Reactive and Organised Crime Branch arrived at White’s house, they found substantial amounts of counterfeit Ford accessories packed into boxes and stored on shelving in his garage.
Putting jobs at risk
Temporary Detective Superintendent Gary Reid said: “The market for car products linked to high value brands is substantial. Those who seek to subvert this market by making and selling counterfeit products are putting jobs at risk and reducing legitimate profits. They are also taking money out of the legitimate economy and its tax revenues which pay for public services.
We remain committed to working with industry to ensure that producers, workers and the public are protected from fraudsters. I would urge anyone with information about the manufacture, distribution or sale of any counterfeit products to contact police.
Ford Brand Protection Manager, Jess Owens, said: “Ford operates a global team to fight counterfeit products and protect consumers from goods bearing Ford trademarks without authority. Rigorous research and development is conducted by Ford to ensure that parts and accessories provide consumer satisfaction and safety.”
The PSNI said confiscation proceedings in relation to the financial benefit White derived from his criminal activities will now begin.
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Fake Ford mud flaps? The man’s a monster!
Crime of the century
Wanted – Mudflap for Ford Cortina
Must be flexible and willing to travel
Genius
Brilliance
@For Connolly:
Wanted ; one republican socialist politician, must have a neck like a jockey’s bo**ix, lie as if he actually believes what he’s saying and has aspirations to slip into Michael D’s shoes.
U ok hun? x
@For Connolly: All are made in the same place
@For Connolly:
U okay Hun?
Listen I’m not your girlfriend. That may be the way shinners carry on (lots of proof out there) but I’m not one of your shinner mates.
Not a bad idea to be fair, it’s innovative thinking like this that the world needs!
So committing a criminal offence is innovative. Incorrect it’s the weak man’s way of earning a living
Sure why wouldn’t you do it if the judge lets you away with it.
Now if he was dealing in billions of euro in fake funds from a D2 address he would’ve been grand.
At least he drives a Ford to use them himself!
Not bad if you can Ford it …
Its a slow news day.. If they opened my kids wardrobe there’s enough Chinese sourced soccer jerseys for him to spend rest of his life behind bars.. But at least he’ll be well kitted out!
I would imagine there are lots of people making a handy living out of buying and selling on Donedeal and Adverts.ie, as well as ebay and multiple other sources nowadays. I say best of luck to them, but wonder whether it’s only a matter of time before revenue here start targeting a few of the prolific ones to send out a message. Many of them leave an online record of exactly what they have sold and some have sold hundreds of fairly valuable items. That’s a lot of turnover to nit be declaring.
Wow 2 year SUSPENDED sentence, I bet he’s sorry now ….
Do judges get a bonus for keeping criminals away from costly prisons ?
It’s unbelievable
Shut up, he doesn’t deserve to go to prison.
Surely he deserves some punishment though right ?
No fines, no community service, what’s happened the profit he made?
How does this deter others from doing the same thing? All it does is set precedent to tell others the worse you will get is a suspended sentence
Surprised he isn’t done for customs offences too given the garlic smuggler got six years. Suppose his dao-ban (Chinese for counterfeit) rubbishy weren’t mission critical car components but they could have been and doubtless eventually would have been if he hadn’t been nicked. I’ve seen forgeries in China with packaging so good you couldn’t tell the difference. But the brake pads were made out of pressed grass. The branded track suits were highly flammable. The brake assemblies when tested by Tsinghua university flew apart after a few hundred or thousand operations. The well-known brand of anti-depressant with an address in Ireland for its manufacturer contained cement dust. Locking this guy up would have sent a better message than suspending his sentence pour encourager les autres.
Who’ve thought – a counterfeit Ford ring operating out of his car hole!
That’s some nice work… but they won’t be able to hold them. The garage full of counterfeit car parts have mysteriously disappeared.
Would it have been investigated if paddy bloggs had reported it, and not Ford motor company??
International counterfeit scam? Barely. Like almost but so far away.
He probably offloaded some at a car boot sale up north… international criminal mastermind walking among us.
Look forward to the Peckham Echos piece on the scam
It was Frod, pure and simple Frod.
Don’t get this at all. Why isn’t he in jail???
I wonder does he have a set on his own ford?! Proper marketing right there ha
Can they not start catching real criminals for the change since there is gangland killing every week, not a man selling mud flaps ffs…
My God everything is made in China anyway the only is he forgot to tell Ford
have your say