A 35-year-old entrepreneur has been sentenced to 15 months’ probation for buying counterfeit branded goods from the Far East for online sale. In addition, the defendant received a fine of 3,000 euros from the Regensburg Regional Court on Tuesday. The ruling is not yet legally binding (Az. 6 KLs 154 Js 4330.
Tens of thousands of items
According to the indictment, the trader from Amberg in the Upper Palatinate region of Germany had more than 35.000 items stored that had incorrect manufacturer’s information printed on them or were not approved for the European market. Prosecutors believe the products were original and had a total value of more than 1.2 million euros. Other shipments of misbranded items from China and Australia were intercepted by German customs. However, individual charges were then dropped in the trial even before the verdict was reached.
After the arraignment, the parties to the trial held lengthy negotiations behind closed doors. In the talks between the criminal chamber, the prosecution and the defense, an understanding was reached on a sentencing range in the case of a confession. The 35-year-old was offered a sentence of between one and one-and-a-half years to serve. He then admitted to the charges.
According to the investigation, the accused businessman had obtained fake smartphone cables, headphones, chargers, batteries and the like. In mid-2016, the man is said to have initiated initial sales via a website, initially on a test basis. But the mass of illegal products was not sold. Confessed defendant’s company has since gone bankrupt.