THE owner of a printing shop who ignored a warning after he was caught producing and selling fake logo t-shirts has been ordered to fork out more than £70,000.
According to the police, Cagdas Top from Funtastic Print, in High Street, Ponders End, was fined £15,000, and ordered to repay £50,000, after trading standards officers discovered he was using an online eBay account to illegally sell protected branded logos.
Mr Top pleaded guilty to the offence under the Trade Marks Act 1994, at Wood Green Crown Court, on Friday April 21, and was ordered to pay legal costs of £8,260.
During an investigation launched in February 2015, the 37-year old, from Honey Lane, Waltham Abbey, was caught selling t-shirts and hooded logos containing protected logos including musician artists, One Direction and Nirvana.
Mr Top was sent a warning letter but failed to comply after Trading Standards officers carried out a test purchase and found he was continuing to sell the counterfeit goods.
“The Council wants to create an environment where businesses can survive, grow and flourish,” said Cllr Daniel Anderson, Enfield Council’s cabinet member for environment.
“But we can’t do that if some companies in the Borough don’t play by the rules.
“Mr Top was given fair warning that what he was doing was illegal and had ample opportunity to fall into line. Instead, he chose to ignore our advice and broke the law.
“We want Enfield to be a place where honest hard-working and law-abiding businesses can flourish, but, by the same token, simply won’t tolerate businesses who think it is OK to break the law in search of a quick buck.
“Make no mistake, we will always investigate and prosecute any business where we find illegal activity,” added Mr Anderson.