Croydon fraudster jailed for selling fake Nintendo games
Defence justifies £600k scheme due to high street video game prices.
A Croydon criminal caught selling fake Nintendo games over the internet has been handed a 32 month jail term.
Justin Success-Brooks made £600,000 in two years running the scheme, Croydon Guardian reported.
The fraudster ran a "complex and sophisticated operation" with "very substantial" trade to buyers in China, Croydon Crown Court was told.
Success-Brooks used multiple identities, addresses and had set up 18 websites to trade on. In one transaction he sold pirated versions of 75 DS games - worth £1368 - for just £39.95.
Incredibly, Success-Brooks continued his operation despite cease-and-desist letters from the UK Border Agency and continued to sell the games even after police confiscated his stock.
Defence lawyer Gary Venturi argued his client's crimes were due to the exorbitant price of games on the high street.
"If you read forums, for every person complaining about the sale of illegal games there are four or five complaining about the price of legitimate games," Venturi claimed, adding that Success-Brooks' crimes were no worse than advertising fake games in a newspaper.
Success-Brooks pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud. He was told he would serve at least half of his sentence behind bars.