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Members of a criminal network based in Rainham in east London have been convicted of masterminding a global fake golf club scam, after an unprecedented investigation by Havering Council.

The counterfeiting operation is the biggest of its kind ever to be investigated by a Council trading standards team and is the largest counterfeiting conspiracy ever uncovered on eBay.

The defendants sold millions of pounds worth of counterfeit golf clubs and other fake golf merchandise through the website between June 2003 and March 2008. Havering Council officers identified more than 96,000 transactions of golf clubs and other golf equipment occurring during this period

Four defendants were found guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court, of conspiring together to sell or distribute counterfeit golf clubs, clothing and accessories bearing signs likely to be mistaken for registered trademarks contrary to Section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

They were, Roy and Kay Cottee from Rainham, Helen Wilson from Hertford, and Sharron Williams from Kent.

Three other defendants had already admitted various offences. Gary Bellchambers, from Rainham, who was at the heart of the conspiracy, had already pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy along with Keith Thomas, also from Rainham.

Chris Moughton, from Blackpool, pleaded guilty to a role in a connected conspiracy. Bellchambers also admitted the unauthorised use of trademarks contrary to Sec 92(1)(c) of the Trade Marks Act 1994, which related to counterfeit Qantas complimentary lounge cards and Sony memory sticks.

The majority of the fake goods were manufactured at factories in Turtle Creek, Shenzhen, China and shipped to the various defendants’ addresses in the UK. All the convicted defendants except Helen Wilson travelled to Thailand.

From Thailand, or their homes in the UK, they arranged for the fake goods to be sent to eBay customers in Ireland, Australia, The United States, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil and New Zealand. Nearly every major golf brand had been counterfeited.

The downfall of the counterfeiting empire was brought about when a customer complained to Havering Council trading standards officers after she had tried to get a refund for two clubs.

The conspirators usually gave unhappy customers refunds to avoid attracting attention from the authorities. However, her letters to Bellchambers, (aged 46) of Dunedin Road, Rainham, who was in Thailand at the time, were ignored.

The Council then launched an investigation, codenamed Operation Augusta, named after the US golf club which hosts the Masters.

Council officers searched the homes of the defendants and other addresses. Analysis of seized computers, thousands of golf clubs and further investigation discovered:

  • The guilty defendants sold the clubs for around £50-£100 (genuine clubs retail at £110-130). The cost of manufacturing each fake club and having it shipped from China to the UK was US$5.
  • Some fake golf balls sold to customers exploded when struck with a golf club.
  • Emails from some of the defendants recorded a complaint from a customer who found a tropical spider’s nest in the cavity of a golf club.
  • 2.8 tonnes of golf clubs were delivered to Roy Cottee’s address.
  • Bellchambers owns several properties in Thailand, shares in around 20 companies and has an interest in a 100-year-old yacht in the Far East.
  • Bellchambers and the Cottees sold counterfeit Qantas airport lounge passes which gave entry to business class lounges at airports across the world. More than 4,000 cards were sold during 2005 to 2007.

Bellchambers and other convicted defendants sold the counterfeit clubs through a vast number of accounts on eBay. eBay suspended accounts but on occasion would reinstate an account when the defendants provided false invoices which claimed to relate to the legitimate wholesale purchase of genuine goods.

The number of people involved in the conspiracy grew as the gang leaders recruited individuals who were prepared either to allow their existing eBay accounts to be used or allow their names and addresses to be used upon registration of additional accounts.

The Council investigators discovered that considerable sums of money were passing through the bank accounts of Bellchambers. During a 28-day period in November 2006, £73,000 was transferred between accounts.

Bill Adams, Havering Council Principal Trading Standards officer, said: “In my 35 years as an investigator I’ve never before heard of such a massive counterfeiting operation – it was of a scale that has never been seen before.  The gang made millions of pounds from their operation, selling to people all over the world.

“This conspiracy was like a huge spider’s web which we had to unravel. I’d like to thank my officers for their dedication and going beyond the call of duty to bring this criminal network down.”

Cllr Michael White, Leader of Havering Council, said: “We will pursue any counterfeiters in Havering, from rogue traders at boot fairs to criminals with world-wide networks, in order to protect legitimate businesses and jobs in these harsh economic times.

“These convictions now open the door to further legal proceedings to pursue these crooks for their proceeds of crime. Havering Council will be able to invest any assets that are seized into protecting consumers and improving services to local people.”

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Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered

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