Counterfeiting of luxury perfumes: six defendants sentenced to Vesoul to pay a symbolic euro

Counterfeiting of luxury perfumes: six defendants sentenced to Vesoul to pay a symbolic euro

The starting point is a search by the gendarmes of Haute-Saône 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 counterfeits.

In this affair, all the protagonists immediately recognize having bought these bottles at a low price, none of them trying to hide it. The investigators therefore succeed quite easily in tracing the small network.

An easy treasure hunt for the gendarmes

This first woman admits to owning three 33 ml bottles of perfume from major luxury brands. It was her companion who left her these perfumes. The couple, who have just separated, no longer live together. When the gendarmes go to the companion, the latter admits to having destroyed about twenty bottles. These bottles bearing the image 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 his ex-girlfriend warned her of the visit of the gendarmes, he got rid of her.

Another woman, also from Saint-Sauveur, an acquaintance of the couple, has a few bottles of perfume at her home. It is not for her to traffic, but it is to offer to her daughter and for her use. staff. "I can't afford to buy it 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 1,882 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 seriousness of the acts. The president of the court then explains to them the maximum penalties incurred:

The couple explains that they once had an offer to buy unsold perfumes from Dubai at a low price. The couple initially imagined dealing with Duty Free. But the purchase at 4 euros of a bottle that sells for 50 to 60 euros in stores cannot really be a tax-free purchase.

The couple inquires and learns that one 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 takes care of the sale on Facebook. A Paypal account allows cashing. The couple estimates the profit made over the incriminated period at 10 to 15,000 euros.

"It was to put butter in the spinach" explains the couple who did not really get rich. He is unemployed, she is self-employed and sells unbranded clothes on the markets: "It allows us to feed the children, to do the shopping".

Fake perfume bottles are bought for 2 euros in Paris, resold for 4 euros. The customer who buys 4 euros resells them for 7 euros. Whoever buys them for 7 euros hopes to sell them for 15 euros...

Major luxury brands seek more than 100,000 euros in damages

Christian Dior, LVMH, Louis Vuitton, Hermès, Hugo Boss, Kenzo, Escada, Calvin Klein, Guerlain, the biggest perfume brands are bringing civil action and are asking for damages, for moral damage and for loss of profit.

But the Parisian lawyers did not make the trip to defend their clients, the president of the court then read a long "litany" of what these brands are asking for, requests sent by email.

Appropriate requisitions

Faced with the extravagance of the sums claimed by the civil parties from these defendants with low incomes or unemployment, the public prosecutor does not require fines, so as not to take the risk of sinking even more into the misery of the people at the bottom of the social ladder. The prosecution is only asking for suspended prison sentences, so that these people understand that if they do it again, they will go to prison.

The lawyers for the defendants all denounce the extravagance of the sums requested by the civil parties, and ask the court to dismiss these requests because there has been no financial loss for the major brands. If these people bought these fake perfumes at low prices, it is because no one can afford to buy them in perfumeries at the high prices charged, so there is no loss for the big brands.

A reasonable judgment

The court imposes suspended prison sentences. Each defendant will have to pay 1 symbolic euro to each major brand, and 100 euros for the lawyers' fees for the latter.