A man who was caught selling counterfeit DVDs and CDs at a car boot sale was warned by a Judge that he faced a fine of almost half a million euro!
Glen Hepburn was caught with 426 of the items when undercover Gardai raided a car boot sale at Coneyburrow in Lifford.
Led by Sgt Joe Kealy, officers raided the sale and found bundles of illegal DVDs and CDs.
Hepburn, a 42-year-old father of five from Green Hill in Letterkenny, admitted selling the items for €2 each.
Solicitor for Hepburn Mr Frank Dorrian told Letterkenny District Court that his client was helping another individual.
He said the profit from the DVDs was quite minimal as they were no longer being used and this type of copyright infringement was at the lower end of the market.
“It was a minor car boot sale in a remote area and was not well-attended. The enterprise was a little bit shambolic,” he said.
The court heard that Hepburn had a similar conviction in 2013 and had been bound to the peace for 12 months as a result.
Judge Paul Kelly said that the fine for each illegal DVD was €1,000 which meant that Hepburn faced a fine of up to almost half a million euro.
“I think that’s aimed at a much more lucrative market,” said Mr Dorrian of the possible fines.
Judge Kelly sentenced the accused to 60 hours community service in lieu of two months in prison.