Lancaster men and woman involved in peddling bogus music albums face sentencing

Two men and a woman who committed offences linked to trading fake music CDs will discover their fate on Monday.
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It comes after a Lancashire Trading Standards probe uncovered thousands of bogus CDs at an address in Morecambe.

John Waldie, 56, of Stuart Avenue, Morecambe, previously pleaded guilty to 16 charges of unauthorised use of a registered trademark after selling CDs on Amazon.

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His 47-year-old co-defendant, Sarah Forsyth, also known as Sarah Capstick, also of Stuart Avenue, Morecambe, admitted three similar charges of unauthorised use of a registered trademark.

Crown CourtCrown Court
Crown Court

Their co defendant Adam Keates, of Belmont Close, Lancaster, admits five charges of unauthorised use of a registered trademark, as well as converting £16,987.60 of criminal property through his bank account.

It is understood payments for sales of counterfeit CDs sold via Amazon went into the 32-year-old’s account.

The haul of CDs peddled by the Lancaster and Morecambe trio included albums by musicians Adele, Sam Smith, and various ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ CD albums.

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The defendants are expected to be sentenced on Monday at Preston Crown Court.

The case comes months after an investigation by the Recording Industry Association of America claimed 25 per cent of CDs ‘Fulfilled by Amazon’ were counterfeit.

There are steps that can be taken to help identify fake CDs and DVDs.

Buyers are urged to look at the bottom of the disc - recordable discs have a green, purple, or color of tint to them, unlike the traditional CD. Genuine labels would usually have a special hologram type border.

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