A businessman who made more than £1m selling fake vinyl records was caught after a fan of punk band the Clash complained that the sound quality of an LP he had bought was not as sharp as it should have been.
Trading standards officers launched an investigation into Richard Hutter and found that he had been selling thousands of counterfeit records to rock and pop fans over a six-year period.
Hutter, 55, from Ringwood, Hampshire, was given a suspended jail sentence, ordered to do 250 hours unpaid work and told to wear a tag for three months.
He charged up to £35 for albums from bands ranging from the Beatles to Pink Floyd, Nirvana and Amy Winehouse.
He was found out when a Clash fan demanded his money back because of the poor sound quality on the record he had bought online.
When the refund was refused the customer complained to trading standards officers, who bought two sample records – Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses and Songs for the Deaf by Queens of the Stone Age – from Hutter’s online business and both turned out to be fakes.
Hutter’s home was searched and officers seized his phone and laptop, which led to them uncovering the scale of his operation. As well as selling through his website and a US site, he listed almost 1,200 LPS for sale on eBay in one year.
When questioned, Hutter denied knowing they were counterfeit records and said he had sourced them from Europe and sold them on. He pleaded guilty to 13 counts of selling counterfeit records and one count under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
He was sentenced at Bournemouth crown court and was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months. A £373,000 confiscation order was also made.
Martin Thursby, of Dorset Trading Standards, said: “Vinyl sales declined rapidly after CDs were introduced but the resurgence in vinyl started in around 2010.
“Demand is now so great that there are not enough vinyl pressing plants to meet demand. Hutter was aware of the increase in popularity and set up his business to take advantage of that.
“The LPs Hutter was selling were generally good copies that came to light because they were bought by avid fans of the music who could spot the small differences which showed the records were counterfeit.”
Syan Ventom, prosecuting, said: “The offences involved selling and distributing counterfeit items and money laundering. Mr Hutter did not carry out any checks as to the provenance of what he bought and sold.”
Andrew Barkley, defending, said his client was “remorseful” for his actions and of previous good character.
Recorder Richard Tutt said he was unable to impose the standard five-year prison sentence for a money laundering offence as magistrates had made an error with the process of sending the case to crown court.
Sentencing Hutton, he said: “Your benefit from your criminal activity over that period of six years was £1,274.222.84p, and I make a confiscation order of £373,589.64p.”
Hutter pleaded guilty to seven offences of selling or distributing counterfeit vinyl records under the Trade Marks Act (1994) and six counts of offering for sale vinyl records infringing copyright under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Acts (1988). He also admitted one count of transferring criminal property under the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002).
Paola Monaldi, head of the content protection unit at the UK record labels association the BPI said: “Vinyl has seen an incredible comeback in the past few years, with around 5.5 million LPs purchased in the UK alone in 2022. Sadly, this renaissance has been accompanied by a disturbing rise in bootlegging and sales of unauthorised recordings.”
