Skelmersdale mother jailed for 4 years 4 months over £492,000 fake designer clothing sales

Left · 2Barbara Murphy, 49, of Skelmersdale, Lancashire, was jailed for four years and four months at Preston Crown Court after pleading guilty to one count of fraudulent trading. 1 2 Left · 2Between 2021 and 2025 she sold counterfeit goods, often at around half the genuine retail price, through a Facebook account called 'Barbie Murphy'. The goods carried brands such as Moncler, Armani and Gucci, and included fake Louis Vuitton and Cartier jewellery, Jo Malone perfume sets and Premier League football kit. 1 2 Left · 2The court heard the goods would have been worth around £1.5 million if genuine. Prosecutors said Murphy benefited by £492,379.61, with more than 11,000 transactions believed to have taken place. 2 1

Left · 2Recorder John Richard Jones KC told her: 'You knew the items you were selling were counterfeit, but you did not make that known.' He said the goods were 'professionally represented' and sold like a QVC-style shopping channel, and that the trademark owners were also victims. 1 2 Left · 2Trading Standards first learned of the page in December 2021 because of its low prices. In March 2022, after police stopped her in a vehicle containing fake items, she was sent a warning letter, but the page was still operating largely unchanged in 2023. 1 2 Left · 2She also livestreamed sales, with buyers messaging in real time to order. A Trading Standards officer made test purchases between May 2023 and February 2024, and in February 2024 her home was searched. 2 1

Left · 1Officers seized 1,134 items worth about £45,000, including 397 pairs of Nike trainers and 179 pairs of Ugg boots; representatives of the genuine brands confirmed a number were counterfeit. 2 Left · 2Murphy told her 12,000 followers she was closing the page as it had become 'too risky' and said she would move to WhatsApp and Telegram. Her company, Barbies Boutique Ltd, was dissolved in June 2024, but the court heard she kept trading until June 2025. 2 1 Left · 2Her barrister, Alastair Reid, said she had run a legitimate children's clothing business until Covid forced it to close, then took up selling counterfeits supplied by traders in Manchester's Cheetham Hill. He said she knew it was wrong, and the Mirror reports he said she kept trading to pay a debt to suppliers she felt intimidated by. 2 1

Left · 2Murphy has one previous conviction for dishonesty and is on state benefits in council accommodation. She was also given a confiscation order and ordered to pay a victim surcharge, and the seized goods are to be destroyed. 2 1