An online fraudster who pocketed £40,000 from selling counterfeit iPhone batteries on eBay has been ordered to pay the money back following a Hillingdon Trading Standards investigation.
Sanjay Giri (54) of Hayes came to the attention of Hillingdon Trading Standards in October 2019 when it emerged that his company, Lithium Power Ltd, was selling counterfeit batteries listed as ‘Official 100% Genuine Apple’.
Officers found that Giri had sold 714 batteries marked with the Apple Community Trade Mark and when a warrant for his home was executed a further 676 of the counterfeit batteries were found and seized, along with other electrical goods.
Giri was convicted of five counts of trademark infringement at Isleworth Crown Court on 3 March and was given a community order. He was also disqualified from acting as a company director for four years.
Following Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) proceedings, on 3 August Giri was given three months to pay back the £40,000 he was estimated to have earned from the dishonest sales, or face a nine-month default prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay £10,000 towards Hillingdon Council’s court costs.
Councillor Eddie Lavery, Hillingdon Council’s Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “I thank the Trading Standards team whose excellent work here has very much proved that crime doesn’t pay, as this resident has found out the hard way and is now facing a payment of £50,000.”
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