Rogue trader sold fake football programmes and conned fans out of £45,000

A rogue trader who sold fake football programmes conned football fans out of £45,000 over one FA Cup semi-final weekend.

Brandon Davis tricked supporters from four teams on their way to Wembley into forking out double the price for his bogus magazines.

The 52-year-old tried exploit a loophole in legislation by trying to sell 6,000 'Event Times' booklets under the guise of being newspapers for the 2015 semi-final games.

He charged £10 for each magazine - double the price of an official match day programme - as fans were mislead Davis' knock off mags were the real deal.

Davis and his company - Brandon Davis Publishing Limited - printed off the booklets before the trader commissioned a sales and marketing agency of more than 30 employees to sell the magazines over the two days.

The magazines also contained a number of registered trademarks, included the official club badges of Arsenal and Liverpool, which Davis did not have permission to use.

Despite lowering the price to £5 on the second day, the trader still stood to earn up to £45,000.

Davis operated during eventual winners Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Reading on Saturday April 18 and Aston Villa's 2-1 win against Liverpool the next day, all played at Wembley.

He was branded "arrogant" and "brazen" by a judge after he was found guilty by a jury of multiple breaches of the Trade Marks Act.

One fan told the court how she was duped into believing the programme was official before being left disappointed and out of pocket when she realised this was not the case.

At Harrow Crown Court he was handed a 14-month prison term suspended for two years.

Trading Standards officers have now started confiscation proceedings against Davis and the company.> Davis, of Westminster, was also ordered to wear an electronic tag and comply with a curfew from 8pm to 7am for six months on April 6.