Amazon and eBay trader ran £250,000 counterfeit business from Portsmouth office

Marcos Jager was prosecuted by Portsmouth City Council after Trading Standards officers seized thousands of items of stock at Cumberland Business Centre, Northumberland Road, Southsea.

He has been ordered to pay £74,000 in fines and a confiscation order or face up to five years in prison.

Officers launched the investigation after getting a complaint in October 2016 that his firm, Alivo Ltd, might be selling fake goods.

At court the firm admitted having 7,074 counterfeit wireless chargers, including those badged as Samsung, with Batman and Superman logos, and Captain America branding.

The firm also had console skins which had Arsenal, Liverpool, Middlesborough, Manchester United and Manchester City FC logos.

Other stock also included fake BMW car badges, wheel caps and wireless chargers.

The goods were sold via Amazon and eBay and the company’s website orashop.co.uk.

Jager, 43, of Eastern Villas Road, Southsea, admitted charges over selling his own-brand cosmetic products without English on the packaging, not registering with the European Commission and failing to ‘ensure that any of the One1X cosmetic products sold by Alivo Ltd had undergone a safety assessment’.

Richard Lee, regulatory services manager at the city council, said: ‘We’re pleased with (the) result.

‘It’s a great example of the hard work delivered by our team in ensuring that we have an overwhelming strong case to present to court.

‘The sentence demonstrates how seriously the courts view traders that don’t comply with product safety laws and attempt to mislead the public by selling fake goods.’

Jager admitted six charges relating to the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 and admitted, on behalf of Alivo Ltd, two charges under the Trade Marks Act 1994.

The six charges related to the importation, distribution, sale of non-compliant cosmetic products worth £200,000. The firm’s two charges were for the possession and sale of £50,000 worth of counterfeits.

A judge at Portsmouth Crown Court fined Jager £6,000 and the company £10,000, along with £13,000 costs to pay.

The judge ruled Jager made £250,000 and must pay £45,000 back under a confiscation order.

If he does not pay the fines in a year he faces six months in prison, and if he does not pay back the £45,000 in three months he faces five years in jail.

Now Jager, a former factory worker, has said he may stop trading due to financial penalties. He said: ‘I’ve paid for my mistake and I’m just moving on.

‘I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to continue for much longer because of the fines.’

He said all of his adverts’ descriptions said they were not genuine products and that fakes were still being sold online by other traders.

Jager added: ‘I’m not a criminal. I’m just somebody who has done something wrong and paid for it.

‘That was a mistake on my part.’

He said the cosmetics were tested but not registered and that he now has the correct documentation for them.