A pensioner who made more than £600,000 profit selling fake designer handbags will only have to pay back £25,200.
Roseleen Ann D’Arcy has six months to meet the confiscation order and if she fails, Judge Paul Ramsey KC said the 68-year-old faces six months in jail.
Last January, the Newry Crown Court judge imposed a 12 month jail sentence but suspended it for two years.
At an earlier hearing D’Arcy, from Windsor Bank in Newry, entered guilty pleas to charges including one of converting £86,820 cash of criminal property, 11 of having items in breach of registered trademarks “with a view to make a gain for yourself” and one of selling handbags “which bore a sign identical to, or likely to be mistaken for, a registered trademark”.
While there are various fashion houses named in the trademark offences including Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Givinchy, Prada, Balenciaga and Christian Dior, Judge Ramsey revealed during his sentencing remarks that nearly 500 items of counterfeit designer goods were seized including handbags, shoes, T-shirts and sunglasses.
Summarising the Crown case, the judge told the court that acting on intelligence officers raided D’Arcy’s home and seized the various items, describing the scene as an “Aladdin’s cave”.
Investigators who froze her assets and banks account established that just over £86,000 had been fed through her personal account and when D’Arcy was arrested and interviewed, she made “full and frank admissions” and confessed to police that she makes £200-250 on each bag.
In court on Wednesday, prosecuting counsel Malcom Irvine said while the defence dispute the figure, the police had calculated the overall benefit of D’Arcy’s criminality was £635,632.21.
He conceded that assessed was however “somewhat academic” as there was a further assessment that D’Arcy only had realisable assets amounting to £25,200 so that should be the amount on the confiscation order.