Crime doesn’t pay for Derby business owner prosecuted over counterfeit t-shirts

Published: 18 January 2024

A Derby man, prosecuted for producing and selling counterfeit t-shirts for around four years, will have to use equity from the valuation of his property towards paying back the rewards of his crime.

In September 2023, Mr Juri Frolov was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, and an application  made under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover any money he made from the illicit business.

Some of this is now set to be paid from Mr Frolov’s share of equity on a house purchased through the Right to Buy scheme, following a hearing at Derby’s combined court centre on Thursday 11 January.

The total benefit amount of £36,891.61 can only partly be met through the release of Mr Frolov’s equity in the property and the sale of seized items, including a heat press, printer and blank t-shirts. Together, these total £22,640, leaving a further £13,000 to be found.

Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Property and Regulatory Services, said:

“This case is a perfect example that crime doesn’t pay, and shows that we are prepared to use whatever powers necessary to tackle illegal activity in Derby.

This type of firm action through the courts serves as a warning and deterrent to anyone operating criminal enterprises in the city.”

Mr Frolov was prosecuted in September 2023 after printing and selling T-shirts of famous brands without the consent of the trademark owners. Investigations discovered he had been selling the T-shirts for around four years leading up to December 2019, when a search warrant was carried out at his home in the Arboretum area of Derby City.

Trading Standards seized equipment including a T-shirt printer, a large amount of blank T-shirts, and customer returns. The shirts were advertised on eBay and printed to order from Mr Frolov’s home address.

Previously Mr Frolov had received a letter from an anti-counterfeiting organisation requesting him to stop selling T-shirts which were produced without the consent of the trademark owner. He had failed to acknowledge the content of the letter and take appropriate action to stop producing and selling the T-shirts.

Crime