Sutton counterfeit trainer salesman ordered to repay £25k

Market trader Larry Howard Macatonia was ordered to pay back the money after being caught by trading standards watchdogs selling counterfeit Nike trainers and clothing in Sutton High Street.

The 53-year-old, from Essex, served a jail term for the offences last year after he was caught twice by Sutton Council trading standards officers selling fake goods on his stall.

On Wednesday June 17 Croydon Crown Court ordered Mr Macatonia to pay back the £25,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Sutton Council will receive £9,325 of the conviscation order, which will help fund the work of the business regulation service.

Investigators visited Mr Macatonia’s stall in May 2007 following a tip-off and seized 161 pairs of fake Nike trainers and items of clothing hidden under the stall.

A tip-off in September 2007 that he was continuing to sell counterfeit goods led to officers seizing 55 counterfeit items of clothing and Nike trainers.

Mr Macatonia had previously pleaded guilty to seven offences under the Trade Marks Act 1994 and on April 4, 2008 was sentence at Croydon Crown Court to 14 months imprisonment.

The sentence was later reduced to eight months on appeal.

Last week Mr Macatonia, who no longer trades in Sutton High Street, was ordered to pay a further £12,830 of costs to the council and has two months to pay or faces a further 18 month jail term.

Executive member for environment on Sutton Council Councillor Colin Hall said: “This case shows just how tough we will be on anyone caught selling counterfeit goods.

“That this defendant received a jail term and has now been ordered to pay back £25,000 should act as a real deterrent to anyone wanting to profit from selling fake products.

“The real victims in this type of case are the legitimate businesses in the high street who sell genuine goods and are really struggling in the current economic climate.”

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