A RIDDLESDEN man has been given a suspended jail term for his role in a counterfeit clothing conspiracy.

Bradford Crown Court heard that Stephen Carr, 42, supplied counterfeit, branded heat transfers to the Bradford family behind the operation.

Carr, of Carr Lane, was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He must complete 180 hours of unpaid work.

The Bradford family also narrowly escaped prison for its part in the £500,000 conspiracy, which breached the trademarks of brands including the Arctic Monkeys and Motorhead.

Amar Choudry, 38, of Linton Drive, Heaton; Yasir Choudry, 30, and Qaisar Choudry, 28, of Duchy Crescent, Heaton; Faisal Choudry, 37, of Duchy Drive, Heaton, and Mudasar Alishan, 40, of Oakdale Drive, Shipley, were each sentenced to two years' imprisonment, suspended for two years. They were also ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work.

The sentence followed a two-year investigation into the online sale of counterfeit clothing.

The case was brought by West Yorkshire Trading Standards following a tip-off by private investigators Surelock International, who represent leading brands.

An investigation followed into an industrial-scale screen printing operation in which the registered trademarks of leading music artists, bands and sports teams were illegally printed onto clothing and distributed globally.

Using a number of eBay and Amazon user accounts – in both their own and third party names, including those of their family members – the extended family generated counterfeit sales of £472,898 over a five-year period.

The printing took place at the family business YMC Clothing Ltd, in Thornton Road, Bradford, which used the trading style Fresh and Funky.

The proceeds were then used to purchase a number of properties and high-value motor vehicles. The trademarks breached included Arctic Monkeys, The 1975, Motorhead, Ramones, Beyonce, 5 Seconds of Summer, Harry Potter, Ed Sheeran and Nirvana.

Judge Colin Burn described the offending as a “well-organised fraud with the backing of a legitimate company”.

Yasir and Qaisar Choudry were banned as directors of limited companies for three years.

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings will now be undertaken to recover the total extent of their benefit from their offending.

After the case, David Lodge, head of Trading Standards, said: “The trade in counterfeit goods is not a victimless crime, it impacts directly on UK jobs and the high street.This service will continue to bring to justice those individuals seeking to benefit from the theft of intellectual property and take away the assets accrued through criminal conduct.”