A mother and daughter have been found guilty of money laundering after a jury heard they acted as bankers for a counterfeit footwear operation.
Jane Morris, 26, and Celia Morris, 59, shook their heads in the dock as the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on charges of converting criminal property after the court heard they allowed thousands of pounds to be transferred through their bank and PayPal accounts.
They will be sentenced on February 22 along with Jane’s brother, Shaun Morris, 29, who has already admitted running a counterfeiting business from the family home in Meadowlands, Charnock Richard.
Jane’s former boyfriend Andrew Quinn, 28, of Leighton Street, South Shields, will also be sentenced for entering into a money laundering arrangement and converting criminal property.
During the trial at Preston Crown Court, the jury heard how Shaun Morris sold more £100,000 of imitation Ugg boots, Timberland boots, Nike and Puma trainers through eBay accounts in names including M Caine, G Hunt and J Malkovic.
When Trading Standards officers raided the home in Meadowlands they found boxes all over the house, some ready to be posted, containing the counterfeit shoes.
The court heard Jane and Celia Morris allowed money to be passed through their accounts, knowing it was from the sale of counterfeit goods.
Both women denied the charges but the jury took less than three hours to find Jane Morris, of Leeds, guilty of two counts of concealing criminal property and Celia Morris guilty of a single count. Celia was cleared of concealing criminal property.
Judge Heather Lloyd ordered pre-sentence reports on both women, and granted them bail until their next court appearance on February 22.
She warned the women: “The fact you are being granted bail should not be taken as an indication of any likely outcome of sentence as all sentencing options will be available to me.”