Fraudster who made £1.8m selling fake James Bond movie posters ordered to pay back £500,000 by courts

A fraudster who sold £1.8million of fake movie posters has been jailed and ordered to pay back £500,000 of his profits.

Adam Jeffreys, 41, worked for one of the UK's leading poster manufacturers but ran a lucrative side hustle from his luxury farmhouse.

Over a seven-year period he printed tens of thousands of counterfeit billboards from films such as James Bond, Harry Potter and Batman.

His empire came crashing down on November 3, 2021, when Trading Standards raided his property and discovered a large commercial printer and posters packaged and ready to be sent out.

Jeffreys, formerly of Hainslack Farm on Skipton Old Road, Colne was jailed for 43 months in December last year - the longest custodial sentence ever secured by Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards team.

Now a Proceeds of Crime hearing has been told how Jeffreys made a profit of £1 million on sales of £1,819,783.18.

He was assessed to have £514,052.77 of funds available, which he must pay in full or face an extra five years added to his sentence.

Nick McNamara, from Lancashire County Council's Trading Standards service, said: "This is the longest ever prison sentence imposed in a case brought by our Trading Standards team, whose hard work and dedication was vital in bringing this offender to book.

"Legitimate businesses work hard to build brand awareness and have a right to be protected from pirates who steal their intellectual property rights.”

Jeffreys operated in both the UK and Germany under the names of ‘Plymouth Trading Co’, ‘Plakat Welt’ and ‘Poster Station’, and told the court he had not realised he was doing anything wrong.

But his trial at Preston Crown Court last year heard how Jeffreys faked invoices and sent fake emails to make his business appear legitimate.

The court heard how on a single day in October 2021, a Trading Standards officer found 6,400 different designs of posters being advertised for sale, typically at £8.99 plus postage.

Sentencing Adam Jeffreys to 43 months' imprisonment, Judge Jeffries KC described him as a "liar who had operated with a brazen disregard for licensing and trademark laws".