The United Kingdon’s Croydon Guardian reported on October 19, 2012, that 41-year-old Justin Success Brooks pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud after selling thousands of counterfeit cartridges of popular games for the Nintendo Wii, DS and DSi consoles. According to the Guardian, Brooks made an estimated £600,000 (over $962,000) from online sales of the games between 2009 and 2011. Nintendo estimates that the total retail value of the games Brooks sold was £7.46 million, or $12 million. Brooks will be sentenced on November 9, 2012.
The Guardian reported that Brooks was charged with two counts of fraudulent trading, two counts of supplying an article to use in fraud, two counts of unauthorized possession of goods bearing a trademark and one count of unauthorized use of a trademark. In granted unconditional bail pending a pre-sentence report, the Guardian reported that Judge Shani Barnes told Brooks, “This is clearly a serious matter and this is not giving any promise of anything other than custody if that is what the sentencing judge decides.”
Nintendo raised concerns an online retailer was selling and distributing its products. The United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment association (UKIE) and Nintendo undertook purchases from a number of websites, and the Guardian reported that their investigation led them to Brooks.
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