From July 2015 to August 2017, the three men aged 25, 35 and 38 allegedly sold counterfeit merchandise on eBay and caused unsuspecting buyers financial losses of approximately 315,000 euros. The brothers’ counterfeits mostly came from China.
Among the brands whose copyrights were allegedly violated are well-known names such as office accessory and stationary manufacturers Lamy and Montblanc, and numerous well-known automotive companies like Audi and BMW, Ferrari, Mercedes, Porsche and VW. The counterfeiters sold fakes of a variety of products like key fobs and cufflinks, as well as fountain pens, stickers and decals, stamps and collectable cards, hub caps and coffee machines. The defendants allegedly covered their tracks by using multiple aliases, with which they had for example opened various bank accounts to conduct their business.
In addition to counterfeits, the three men are said to have offered goods for sale on eBay without actually supplying them to buyers, including iPhones, cameras, food processors and champagne. The alleged fraudsters collected the money from their customers, but never dispatched the ordered goods, supposedly scoring an additional 14,000 euros. Furthermore, the men are said to have fraudulently obtained about 20,000 euros in social benefits.
Meanwhile, the defendants have been in investigative custody for nearly six months. For the 25- and 38-year-olds, the prosecutor is demanding two and a half and four years in prison respectively, and a total of six years for the 35-year-old lead defendant. Previously charged with counterfeiting in 2013, the 35-year-old man was sentenced to 20 months of incarceration without parole. However, this did not deter him from returning to the counterfeiting business after his release from prison, said Carsten Schwadrat, chief judge of the criminal division. Eleven court proceedings have been scheduled for this case before 14 February 2018.
