Three online sellers sentenced for selling fake goods and making nearly £400,000

A three-man gang that made nearly £400,000 by selling counterfeit goods on eBay has been temporarily freed after being sentenced by Southwark Crown Court in the UK.

Pathum Don , 36 , Bashir Elsawahli, 44 , and Guncha Elsawahli, 45 , made a profit of £394,241 from selling fake designer underwear, boxer shorts and T-shirts in Ebya, and laundered the money through bank accounts. The trio were convicted of using a trademark without authorisation, while the Elsawahli couple also admitted to transferring criminal property.

Pathum Don was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work; Bashir Elsawahli was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and ordered to complete 10 days of rehabilitation; and Guncha Elsawahli was sentenced to a 12-month community order, and ordered to complete 75 hours of unpaid work.

This case dates back five years. On March 28, 2017, a well-known brand sent a cease-and-desist notice to a seller account named FANCY_INDEX on eBay because the seller was selling counterfeit high-end underwear of the brand. A man called "John S" responded that he lived in India and sold the underwear online to supplement his family income, but he did not know that the underwear was fake.

The fake underwear was subsequently removed, but a few days later, the name of the eBay account was changed to "TRUE.STYLES" and the counterfeit goods began to be sold again.

The UK Intellectual Property Crime Unit ( PIPCU) later discovered that from October 2015 to August 2017, this eBay account sold 18,567 counterfeit underwear for a total of £249,327; and sold 8,107 counterfeit T-shirts for a total of £144,914.

Of the bank accounts in Bashir Elsawahli 's name, four payments totaling £13,862 were transferred to an account called "Disni Don" and 13 payments totaling £37,756 were transferred to an account called "Pathum Don". A further £29,266 was transferred to other accounts associated with Bashir Elsawahli and Guncha Elsawahli.

PIPCU officers executed a search warrant and arrested Bashir Elsawahli on December 19, 2017. They seized 2,383 items of counterfeit clothing as well as Bashir Elsawahli’s mobile phone and laptop, further linking him to Don.

Bashir Elsawahli insisted during police questioning that all clothing seized by PIPCU officers was genuine; Tang managed the eBay account and controlled the bank accounts and payments associated with it. Tang said she had no comment to all questions during police questioning . Guncha Elsawahli said she had no job and did not answer any questions .

The police officer in charge of the case said that although they knew that selling counterfeit goods to the public was illegal, the three men still engaged in this illegal business; when they were first arrested, the three men refused to admit their crimes, but the police had a lot of evidence to prove their crimes.

The police officer also said that the public should think twice before buying counterfeit goods . No matter how much money you save when buying counterfeit goods, it is often offset by their poor quality and the risks of using illegally manufactured products .

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