Woman jailed after selling fake goods worth £1m

A woman has been jailed for 30 months after admitting offering fake goods worth more than £1m for sale in her Lincolnshire shop.

Trading standards officers raided a store in Ingoldmells owned by Matilda Price in 2023 and found in excess of 1,600 counterfeit items, including luxury handbags and clothes supposedly by brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci.

Samples of the seized products were sent to the companies who confirmed them to be counterfeit.

Price, 45, of Anchor Meadows, Ingoldmells, pleaded guilty to six charges relating to the unauthorised use of trademarks and one charge of possessing criminal property at Lincoln Crown Court.

The court heard that she accepted being involved in the operation for about 15 months.

Officers found fake goods hidden in wheelie bins and in a back store room.

The potential value of the goods if sold as genuine was estimated at £1.25m the court was told.

In mitigation, her defence barrister said it was an unsophisticated operation with Price ordering the fake goods using her own surname.

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Hirst told Price there was no evidence that she was coerced into selling the counterfeits.

"This was your shop. You were paying the rent," the judge said.

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