A Brighton man has been jailed for six months for importing fake DVDs worth more than £250,000 and money laundering.
Gary Finch, 45, of Burstead Close, Hollingdean, is starting a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to three counts of importing counterfeit DVDs and three counts of laundering.
Sussex Police, working with the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT), were alerted to Mr Finch by an eBay customer.
The eBay customer had, in good faith, purchased a box set of DVDs.
They were advertised as a genuine product being shipped from within the UK.
When they arrived a number of foreign postmarks were noticeable and it was clear that the DVDs were fake.
A warrant was executed at Finch’s home address in May 2009.
Dozens of pirated DVDs were recovered together with computer equipment and financial documents.
Further investigation revealed an organised criminal network from Malaysia which was responsible for shipping the DVDs.
The eBay account belonging to Finch was being used to advertise the discs.
Inquiries by police financial experts established that over a 12-month period, Finch had sold £255,961 worth of pirated DVDs.
Most were box sets of American television series such as Ghostwhisperer, Californication and Kyle XC.
Finch first appeared at Croydon Crown Court in May 2010.
He told the court that he acted as an “administrator” answering emails on behalf of an unknown man in Malaysia.
He would regularly transfer substantial monies overseas while drawing a salary of £2,000 a month.
The jury failed to reach a verdict and the matter was listed for a retrial in April 2011.
