Designer Clothes Counterfeiters Jailed

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Two brothers and their father have been jailed for their parts in manufacturing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of fake designer garments.

Kully Screen Printing Ltd, in Galby Street, Spinney Hills, Leicester, was described as a “large-scale, highly sophisticated and a professional operation”.

At Leicester Crown Court, director Kuldip Singh (26), the “principal offender”, was sentenced to 23 months and banned from holding a company directorship for five years.

His father, Shinderpal Singh (56), and brother, Sarbjit Singh (24), were each jailed for 11 months.

All three, of The Circle, Crown Hills, Leicester, admitted offences under the 1994 Trade Mark Act, between October 2010 and August 2011.

The factory has since been destroyed in a fire.

Naomi Gilchrist, prosecuting for Leicester City Council trading standards, said: “The business was a front, behind which was a highly fraudulent counterfeiting operation.”

She said more than 100,000 fake T-shirts, hooded tops and tracksuit bottoms were seized, bearing 27 brand names including Adidas, Nike, Hugo Boss, Lacoste and Diesel.

Sentencing, Judge Michael Pert QC said: “It was a large-scale enterprise deliberately being carried on as a wholly fraudulent exercise.

“It involved the production of goods worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.”

Shinderpal previously ran the business legitimately but, when it failed to make a profit, passed it over to Kuldip in early 2010.

By the following October, it was mainly producing counterfeit garments.

Judge Pert said: “Shinderpal Singh continued to work in the factory and was also called upon because of his expertise. Sarbjit Singh is the least involved, although knew what was going on.”

Trading standards called at the factory in August 2011.

Sarbjit – who was minding the premises while his brother and father were in India – refused to allow an inspection.

The business had not submitted any accounts and he hid incriminating paperwork in a hole in the ceiling.

He drove away a van of counterfeit clothes, before council officers obtained a warrant.

Nathan Rasiah, for Kuldip, said: “He got involved in a dodgy counterfeit operation, not motivated by greed but while trying to support the family.”

Philip Bown, for Sarbjit, said he earned “pin money” as a university student, cleaning the premises and did not produce any counterfeit goods.

Ian Halliday, for their father, said: “He’s embarrassed about the shame he’s brought upon his family.”

Afterwards, trading standards officer Ben Proctor said: “We are pleased with the sentence which reflects the gravity of what we came across in the factory very well.

“It’s still a problem nationally and Leicester is one of the hubs where it’s quite serious.”

Kuldip Singh admitted 26 offences under the Trade Mark Act, his father admitted 19 and his brother admitted 17.

Designer Clothes Counterfeiters Jailed

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