Stratford Man Ran ‘Commercial’ Counterfeiting Operation from His Bedroom
A Stratford man who made thousands of pounds selling counterfeit electronic car repair manuals on ebay has received a suspended sentence and a 200 hour unpaid work order following a successful prosecution by Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards Service.
Kristopher Ombler (date of birth: 26/10/85) of Avon Bank Drive, Luddington Road, Stratford upon Avon was caught after one of his customers bought a ‘VW Fox Polo Golf Workshop Repair Manual’ from him on ebay.
The consumer received one copied CD and three copied DVDs which didn’t work properly and reported the matter to Warwickshire Trading Standards Service.
Trading Standards Officers then carried out their own purchases of manuals on ebay from Mr Ombler, ascertained the items were fakes and visited Mr Ombler’s home where they discovered specialist equipment capable of producing 50 copied discs, one after the other. Mr Ombler was not at home but the copying equipment had been left working while he was away.
In court the Judge stated that Mr Ombler had been greedy in order to make easy money and his activities had grown from his own needs and interests in to a commercial operation. Mr Ombler had set about presenting the manuals in a professional way in order to attract more customers. The Judge also stated that the repair manuals, (which would not have received manufacturer updates) could have been out-of-date or inaccurate and therefore posed a possible safety risk.
Warwickshire County Councillor Richard Hobbs, Portfolio Holder for Community Protection, commenting on the case said:
“The judge considered this case to be a serious one and so do we. People who manufacture and sell fake goods not only put the livelihoods of genuine businesses and the people they employ at risk, but also leave consumers paying for substandard products that do not work.
Counterfeiters who think that they can avoid prosecution by selling their fakes on auction sites are warned that we will take action against you!”
At Leamington Justice Centre on Friday 1st April 2011, Kristopher Ombler pleaded guilty to 8 offences relating to the manufacture and sale of counterfeit goods and for each offence was sentenced to 3 months imprisonment, suspended for 12 months. He was also sentenced to an unpaid work order – 200 hours to be completed within 12 months.