£46,000 Confiscation Order Sinks Patchway Pirate

Wednesday 2nd May 2007/ A Patchway man has had assets totalling nearly £46,000 confiscated after already being sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for related criminal activity.

Nicholas Hunter, 40, of Brookfield Road, Patchway was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment at Bristol Crown Court in August 2006 for his involvement in the largest counterfeiting case that South Gloucestershire Trading Standards has prosecuted to date. This followed his submission of guilty pleas to a total of 17 offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994, which related to the selling, possession and production of illegally copied computer and video games. Hunter was established to be the main seller of such products at Southmead Hospital's open-air market and ran an illegal copying operation from his home.

Mr Hunter's home address was then raided by South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, as well as representatives of ELSPA and officers from Avon and Somerset Police. The house contained computer hardware capable of creating pirated discs on a commercial scale as well as all the necessary equipment and materials for packaging them for sale. The garage was found to contain Hunter's current stocks of copied games, which consisted of 980 copied Xbox and PC games as well hundreds of illegally copied business software products. Similar items were also found in the house and the total retail value of the haul of copied games alone was estimated to be in excess of £58,000.

Mr Hunter was subsequently arrested and a full investigation into his trading activities was conducted by Trading Standards, who sought assistance from the Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) to establish if Hunter had benefited from the income generated by his illegal activities.

Forensic examinations were conducted on the computer equipment detained from Hunter's home which revealed that it was loaded with six CD copying programmes and contained a vast catalogue of pictures of game covers allowing for the production of covers for the counterfeit products he was selling. In addition, it was established that he had the capacity to produce 16 copied discs at a time.

The hearing, which took place on Monday 30th April, follows a lengthy investigation by the ARA into Mr Hunter's financial circumstances as it was established that he sustained his lifestyle purely from income generated by his illegal activities. During this time it was established that Mr Hunter was able to trade up from a semi detached to a detached home, which is the main asset involved in the ARA's investigation.

The case was brought under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and in Court it was stated that Mr Hunter had derived a total benefit of £74,353.84 from his criminal conduct. However, it was agreed by both parties that a total of £45,916.32 was available for confiscation, which mainly equates to the equity that he personally has in his property.

Representing Mr Hunter, Nick Dunne stated that the only asset his client had to satisfy the confiscation order was his house and that he obviously needed time to sell it. He also stated that his client was currently going through a divorce and informed the Court that this effectively halved his share of the equity in the matrimonial home.

Recorder Chippendall, who was presiding, therefore made a confiscation order for the full amount of £45,916.32 and stipulated that it must be paid within three months. In the circumstances he informed Mr Hunter that he should start marketing his property immediately. He also stated that if Hunter defaulted on this order he would be sentenced to a further 16 months imprisonment (with the requirement that the payment still has to be made).

In addition, costs applications were made on behalf of the ARA and South Gloucestershire Council (for the original prosecution) totalling £21,235. Recorder Chippendall ordered that Hunter should pay a total of £2,000 towards these and stressed that this did not reflect that the prosecution had spent too much on proceedings, but was more to do with the reality that Mr Hunter would have very little money left after this case.

Michael Rawlinson, Managing Director of ELSPA commented: "The Hunter case highlights the severe penalties facing criminals who partake in the selling of pirated computer and video games. Any profit made through illegal activity such as this can- and often is reclaimed under POCA, and just goes to show that piracy and counterfeiting doesn't pay."

Neil Derrick, Senior Enforcement Officer for South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, said: "This is the first such case that South Gloucestershire Trading Standards has been involved in and this outcome hammers home the message that counterfeiters will not just be prosecuted for the offences they commit, but will also be pursued for any assets they have derived from them."

He added: "We are actively considering the assets recovery aspect of every case that we prosecute and people should be aware that it is not just restricted to counterfeiting activity, but any trading law offences that we enforce."

Any member of the public wanting to report potential offences to Trading Standards should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

Further details are available from Mark Pullin, Trading Standards and Licensing Manager, on 01454 634007 and Neil Derrick, Senior Enforcement Officer, on 01454 634009.

Ends.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Hunter first came to the attention of Trading Standards in 2004 when undercover investigators working for the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA) made several test purchases of copied PC and Xbox games from him while he was running his stall at Southmead Hospital market. The titles purchased included Colin McRae Rally 04 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2004 and were being sold at £3 each or 4 for £10.

EDITORS NOTES

About ELSPA - http://www.elspa.com

ELSPA (The Entertainment & Leisure Software Publishers Association) was founded in 1989 to establish a specific and collective identity for the computer and video games industry. Membership includes almost all companies concerned with the publishing and distribution of interactive leisure software in the UK.

ELSPA's activities include: Official Chart and Industry Reports, Anti-Piracy UK and EU, PR and Communication, Events. More information on all these activities can be found at http://www.elspa.com.

About Software Piracy and its negative impact on both consumers and industry.

ELSPA estimates criminal gain through computer and video games piracy sits at approximately £540 million. Piracy/counterfeiting is illegal and punishable by fines and jail sentences.

The illegal copying of software poses the very real threat of criminal prosecution and a criminal record, as well as the risk of massive personal financial loss under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Consumers have no recourse under law for faulty pirated games, which can damage hardware.

Counterfeited/pirated games are often mixed with obscene or pornographic material.

Local and national jobs are lost as result of pirate operations.

Proven links exist between many organised counterfeiting organisations and dealers in drugs and pornography.

For further information on ELSPA or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Tom Sargent/Laura West

Barrington Harvey

Tel: 01462 456780

Fax: 01462 456781

Email: tom.sargent@bhpr.co.uk/ laura.west@bhpr.co.uk