Councillor guilty of film poster charges
A town councillor made £90,000 selling fake posters for blockbuster Hollywood films including Star Wars, Die Hard and The Dark Knight Rises, a court heard.
Mark Mountford, pleaded guilty to 13 charges connected with the poster business he ran from home.
An investigation discovered a collection of fake film posters as well as equipment for producing logos belonging to major film studios.
The 46-year-old, who represents the Idsall ward on Shifnal Town Council, admitted to offences that happened between February and May last year.
Shrewsbury Crown Court was told they included possessing technology to make copies of trademarked logos belonging to companies such as Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and Warner Bros.
He also admitted possessing goods with a view to selling them in connection with posters for films from a range of popular films.
They included classics like Alien, Raiders of the Lost Ark, computer game Halo 3 and Mario Brothers.
Mountford, of Maple Close, Shifnal, also admitted creating images of the Tardis from BBC show Doctor Who.
Kevin Saunders, prosecuting, said Mountford was in charge of a sophisticated operation.
He said: "These are sample counts which reflect a wider course of trading that took place over two years.
"The defendant turned over a little shy of £90,000.
"This can only be described as a poster business."
The case was adjourned for sentencing at a later date.
Today, Mountford contacted the Express & Star to dispute the amount of money allegedly involved in the case.
He said: "I am being charged for a crime I didn't even realise was a crime. I have co-operated fully with trading standards officers and the prosecution service. I accept now that what I did was in breach of the trade mark act, but I dispute strongly the amount the prosecution is saying I profited from this.
"The prosecution is suggesting I made nearly £90,000 over a two year period. I have worked with my accountant and my lawyer and we have paperwork to prove that my profit was little more than £18,000 over two years."
"I am also having a hard time understanding who the victims of my crime are. I had 100 per cent positive feedback on eBay. I never have and never would deprive or deceive anybody."
