Ingoldmells woman jailed for having over £1m in counterfeit goods
A shop owner who was caught with counterfeit goods potentially worth over £1million after Trading Standard Officers raided her Ingoldmells store has been jailed for 30 months.
Matilda Price, 45, admitted having fake products purporting to be luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci at her Fie and Best shop in Sea Lane.
Lincoln Crown Court heard Trading Standards Officers found 1,650 suspected counterfeit items such as clothing and handbags during a search of the premises on 27 September 2023.
Items purporting to be brands such as Burberry and Apple were found hidden in wheelie bins and a back store room, the court was told.
Samples of the goods purporting to be other prestige brands were sent to Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and were all confirmed to be counterfeit.
The potential value of the goods if sold as genuine was estimated at £1.25 million.
Price, of Anchor Meadows, Ingoldmells, had no previous convictions, but accepted being involved in the operation for around 15 months.
She pleaded guilty to six charges relating to the unauthorised use of trademarks and one charge of possessing criminal property.
In mitigation the court heard it was an unsophisticated operation with Price ordering goods in her own surname.
The court was told Price also had sole responsibility for the care of her elderly mother and had suffered racism because of her Romany heritage.
Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Price there was no evidence of coercion except for the presence of a man who left when Trading Standards Officers arrived.
"This was your shop. You were paying the rent," Judge Hirst explained.
Judge Hirst added: "The retail value of those items was in the region of £1.25 million.
"It appears you had accumulated those items over a period of 15 months."