The starting point is a search by the Haute-Saône gendarmes at the home of a woman who lives in Saint Sauveur. Search for a completely different reason, but the gendarmes discover three bottles of perfume which turn out to be counterfeit.
In this case, all the protagonists immediately admit having bought these bottles at a low price, no one tries to hide it. The investigators therefore quite easily succeed in tracing the small sector.
An easy treasure hunt for the gendarmes
This first woman admitted to owning three 33 ml perfume bottles from major luxury brands. It is his companion who left him these perfumes. The couple who have just separated no longer live together. When the gendarmes go to the companion, the latter admits having destroyed about twenty bottles. These bottles with the effigy of major brands he bought them for 7 euros each, he planned to resell them for 15 euros, but he didn’t have time. When her ex-partner informed her of the gendarmes’ visit, he got rid of her.
I can’t afford to buy myself in perfumery
Another woman, also from Saint Sauveur, acquainted with the couple has a few bottles of perfume at her home. It is not for her to traffic, but for the gift of her daughter and for her personal use. “I can’t afford to buy myself in perfumery“she explains.
A business in the eyes of all on Facebook
The gendarmes thus go up the small sector thanks to a telephone number given to them by a “client”, and also thanks to a Facebook profile. Marketplace, the social network platform for the sale of objects between individuals is in a way the showcase of this couple who lives near Faucogney. During the search of their home, the gendarmes discovered 1882 bottles of fake perfume from major luxury brands.
Wholesale purchases in the Paris region
This couple does not hide their small business, and admits that at the time of the facts they did not realize the gravity of the acts. The president of the court then explains to them the maximum penalties incurred:
- 3 years in prison for selling counterfeit products
- 3 years in prison for the possession of counterfeit products
- 5 years in prison for concealing counterfeit products
The couple explains that they once had an offer to buy unsold perfumes from Dubai at low prices. The couple initially imagine they are dealing with Duty Free. But the 4 euro purchase of a bottle that sells for 50 to 60 euros in stores cannot really be a duty-free purchase.
The couple inquire and learn that we can buy these same bottles, in the eyes of everyone, in Noisy-le-Sec or Porte de Clignancourt on the sidewalk. The man therefore makes purchases in the Paris region while the woman is responsible for the sale on Facebook. A Paypal account allows you to cash out. The couple estimated the profit made over the period in question at 10 to 15,000 euros. “It was to put butter in the spinach” explains the couple who have not really enriched themselves. He is unemployed, she is a self-employed person and sells unbranded clothes in the markets, “it makes it possible to feed the children, to do the shopping “.
The bottles of fake perfume are bought 2 euros in Paris, resold 4 euros. The customer who buys 4 euros sells them for 7 euros. Whoever buys them for 7 euros hopes to sell them for 15 euros …
The big luxury brands are asking for more than 100,000 euros in damages and interest
Christian Dior, LVMH, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Kenzo, Escada, Calvin Klein, Guerlain, the biggest perfume brands are claiming damages and interest, for moral damage, for loss of profit.
But the Parisian lawyers did not make the trip to defend their clients, the president of the court then reads a long “litany” of what these brands ask for, requests sent by email.
Appropriate requisitions
Faced with the extravagance of the sums claimed by the civil parties from these low-income or unemployed defendants, the public prosecutor does not require penalties of fines, so as not to take the risk of sinking even more into the misery of people at the bottom of the social ladder. The prosecution only requests suspended prison sentences, so that these people understand that if they do it again, they will go to jail.
The defendants’ lawyers all denounce the extravagance of the sums requested by the civil parties, and ask the court to dismiss these claims because there has been no financial loss for the big brands. If these people bought these fake perfumes at a low price, it is because none can afford to buy them in perfumery at the high prices charged, so there is no loss for the big brands.
Reasonable judgment
The court pronounces suspended prison sentences. Each defendant will have to pay 1 symbolic euro for each major brand, and 100 euros for the legal fees of the latter.