DVD Conman Rakes In £100,000 Before Jail
A crafty DVD conman has been sentenced to 18 months behind bars for flogging hundreds of fake sports DVDs online. Darren Hawken, 49, ran a shady website selling bootleg football, darts, and snooker matches he filmed straight off TV broadcasts.
Sporting Fakes Sold Worldwide
Isle of Wight Trading Standards officers uncovered Hawken’s decade-long racket, where he pocketed over £100,000 by selling dodgy DVDs recorded from major broadcasters like Sky Sports, BT Sport, UEFA, Eurosport, ESPN, ITV, and the BBC.
Using PayPal accounts, he shipped these homemade DVDs worldwide, fooling buyers with cheap ‘TDK DVD-R’ discs bearing no official branding or licence.
Tip-Off Leads To Major Raid
Trading Standards launched a probe after a tip-off claiming Hawken’s illegal sports and music operation had been going strong for 15 years. The complainant revealed they had bought two DVDs, only to find them cheaply burnt at home.
Investigators uncovered over 3,000 PayPal sales between 2008 and 2017, amounting to a whopping £100,000+ turnover. A search of Hawken’s home seized 4,700 DVDs and numerous CDs, providing concrete evidence of his counterfeit empire.
Council Cracks Down on Copyright Crime
“These were very serious offences involving substantial sums of money,” said Amanda Gregory, strategic manager for regulatory and community safety services. “Immediate custodial sentences are rare in Trading Standards cases but highlight the gravity of this crime.”
The council sent a strong warning: illegal goods won’t be tolerated.
UEFA Backs Trading Standards Action
“UEFA takes intellectual property theft seriously,” a spokeswoman said. “Stealing match footage drains revenue and harms grassroots football. We fully support Trading Standards and the court’s tough sentence.”
The hard-hitting case shows authorities mean business when it comes to cracking down on copyright crooks.
