Tue, Jan 20, 2015

An Epsom man has been sentenced to three years in prison for selling counterfeit DVDs and money laundering £500,000 from internet shoppers.

Trevor Pegg, 61, of Courtlands Drive, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday (January 15), and must serve half of his three-year term.

Pegg was convicted of 13 counts on December 18 last year, with the overarching charge being participating in fraudulent business carried out by a sole trader. He was also convicted of money laundering and breaching the Trade Marks Act.

The court heard that before this incident, the married father-of-two was a man of good character.

Between 2010 and 2013 Pegg sold counterfeit DVDs, including titles such as the Little Mermaid and Mrs Brown's Boys, through online sites eBay and Play. He imported the DVDs from China, from e-commerce website DH gate.

Defending Rupert Hallowes said: “This is a defendant who has lived an unblemished work life, he had a long career with Safeways, he was self-employed and then developed an enthusiasm for selling items on eBay.”

Mr Hallowes told the court that Pegg's criminal conduct "coincided with his mother's increasing frailty" and eventual death in 2012, and an "upsurge" in health problems, including high blood pressure. The defendant now suffers from chronic kidney disease and has an enlarged prostate.

“Take the view that when the defendant traded with DH gate, he went into the business relationship thinking they were a perfectly legitimate company selling DVDs under license," Mr Hallowes said. “By the end of 2010 and early 2011, the numerous refunds the defendant was making, it simply must have become clear that something was not working with the DVDs.

"The defendant should have kept a closer eye on things."

'Distorted' perspective

He added: “This is more of a case of recklessness, the defendant had developed an obsession with eBay trading.

“While he was engaged with it, he lost all sense of proportion in terms of perspective, when there were complaints he simply did the refunds and continued trading. His perspective became distorted.

“Letters of indictment were made. Even though he was staring a criminal prosecution in the face, he could not stop.”

The court heard there was no real evidence of extreme living as a result of the money, explaining Pegg did not have a "high culpability".

“The amount of money laundered was £500,000, in terms of what this defendant made it would have been £260,000 and then encountered payments to eBay, postage and packaging and the like,” Mr Hallowes said. “There is a real risk of losing the properties, as well as other assets, it is an extremely expensive case of criminal conduct.

“He is genuinely sorry for the impact his offending has had and especially to his family.”

Sentencing Pegg to three years in prison, Judge Robert Fraser said: “I have focused on your culpability, if you had paused you may have come to your senses sooner.

"I have taken account of your medical condition and the effect on custody, it will be shorter terms on your behalf."

Speaking after the sentencing, Surrey County Council Trading Standards investigations and enforcement manager, Steve Playle, said: “We executed a warrant in May 2013 which was the route as far as we were concerned. There was DVD stock, he was clearly breaking the law and cash was seized by Trading Standards.

“There is going to be a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act, there will be a financial penalty along with the criminal sentence.”