The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Fife woman fined for selling counterfeit goods on Facebook
Financial penalty for unemployed mother of four after fake designer items were confiscated
A Glenrothes woman has been fined after selling thousands of pounds worth of fake designer goods on Facebook.
Marie Spinks appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court where she admitted selling the clothing, footwear and electrical items between January and November last year.
She said she knew it was not genuine, and told her customers as much, but did not initially realise doing so was a crime.
She later learned it was against the law but carried on with her scheme regardless.
The 37-year-old, of Cluny Place, was caught after the Fife Council’s Trading Standards department received intelligence that she was selling the items on a Facebook page.
Investigators monitored Spinks on the social media page before handing the information over to the police.
Police then carried out a raid and seized 105 items of fake designer goods from the mother of four’s home.
MARTIN MCGUIRE
Representatives of the 26 designer brands involved, which included Mulberry, Nike, Adidas and Ralph Lauren, were contacted and advised the goods were counterfeit.
The court was told, had the seized goods been genuine, they would have had a maximum value of approximately £11,000.
Investigators believe Spinks, who is unemployed, earned around £4,800 during the 11 months.
The items seized from the property were valued at around £400.
Defence solicitor Martin McGuire said: “She sold training shoes for between £18 to £25.
“The items were marked as replicas. “People would ask if it was genuine and they would be advised that they were not.
“She was getting the stuff from someone else, she wasn’t importing it herself.
“She was selling it on and didn’t realise that it was an issue.
“She did come to learn that it was an issue but continued to sell them.
“She had paid for the goods in advance before selling them on.”
Sheriff James Williamson said: “You should understand that these are very serious matters.
“But I have to take into account your personal circumstances so I am prepared to deal with this by way of a financial penalty.”
Spinks was fined £300 and will repay the cash at a rate of £20 per month.
She was selling it on and didn’t realise that it was an issue.