0:00:02 > 0:00:05Welcome to a world where nothing is as it seems.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- Get down!- Get on the floor now!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24Put your hands behind your back now!
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Here at the Fake Britain house
0:00:26 > 0:00:29we'll reveal the fakes that are flooding the market,
0:00:29 > 0:00:34conning people like you and me and making money for the criminals.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36We'll investigate the fraudsters who are selling us something
0:00:36 > 0:00:39that isn't real and could be dangerous
0:00:39 > 0:00:43and we'll help you avoid falling for a fake.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Today, on Fake Britain,
0:00:45 > 0:00:49the fake sports memorabilia that could lose you thousands.
0:00:49 > 0:00:52It's wonderful. You know, it's signed by this player,
0:00:52 > 0:00:53it's signed by that player.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55They're all fake.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59The fake debt collectors who just want your money.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03They promise to recover your debt. That happened in no case at all.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07The fake blenders that could cause a fire in your home.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09It's in the lap of the gods
0:01:09 > 0:01:11whether or not this thing catches fire or explodes.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20This boxing glove is signed, it appears,
0:01:20 > 0:01:24by Muhammad Ali and had a price tag of nearly £1,000.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26Because it was on sale as having belonged
0:01:26 > 0:01:28to the former heavyweight champion of the world.
0:01:28 > 0:01:32But if I'd paid big money for this, I would have taken a big hit
0:01:32 > 0:01:36because this glove and all of this memorabilia is fake.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39The memorabilia fakers are punching above their weight
0:01:39 > 0:01:42and the problem is getting worse.
0:01:43 > 0:01:44It's daybreak.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46A major operation is underway
0:01:46 > 0:01:48to catch one of the many fakers out there
0:01:48 > 0:01:50thought to be selling vast quantities
0:01:50 > 0:01:53of fake sporting memorabilia to members of the public.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00The officers have no idea what to expect when raiding a property
0:02:00 > 0:02:03so the police are providing some heavy-duty backup.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09Trading Standards Officer Neil Martin kicked off the operation
0:02:09 > 0:02:11after buying this football shirt,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13which the seller claimed had been signed
0:02:13 > 0:02:16by a rather famous Manchester United striker.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20We did a test purchase of a signed Wayne Rooney shirt,
0:02:20 > 0:02:22which cost £150.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27We've subsequently had the signature examined by Wayne Rooney himself,
0:02:27 > 0:02:30who said, "That's not my signature."
0:02:30 > 0:02:34So what, in effect, they've done is added £100 value to the shirt
0:02:34 > 0:02:36by providing the signature.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42It's thought the suspected faker has raked in over £1 million
0:02:42 > 0:02:44by selling fake memorabilia.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48When the officers arrive at the address,
0:02:48 > 0:02:50it's not the warmest of welcomes.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56Hi. My name's Neil Martin from Trading Standards in Dorset.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58Can you just leave the door open?
0:02:59 > 0:03:00Can you just leave the door open?
0:03:02 > 0:03:06On this occasion, the battering ram can stay where it is.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09The officers are quickly inside the property,
0:03:09 > 0:03:10where they find the man they believe
0:03:10 > 0:03:13is selling fake signed football merchandise.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Do you know why we're here? OK. Right.
0:03:17 > 0:03:19The reason we've come here is we made a test purchase
0:03:19 > 0:03:21of a signed football shirt,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24which has been confirmed as being a fake signature.
0:03:24 > 0:03:25The search gets under way
0:03:25 > 0:03:27and the officers soon discover what could be
0:03:27 > 0:03:30a major fake memorabilia operation.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32In the property itself,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34there's an office set up at the back of the house.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37containing blank shirts that don't bear any signatures.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41We've got bags and bags of blank shirts.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44They're genuine shirts, but unsigned shirts.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46I suspect what would have happened
0:03:46 > 0:03:49is he would have applied the fake signatures to these shirts,
0:03:49 > 0:03:54increased their value by, you know, £100 plus.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56Boots, as well. Again these are blanks.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Also footballs.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01We've got probably 60 or 70 footballs,
0:04:01 > 0:04:03again, waiting to be signed.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06The officers also seize electronic evidence
0:04:06 > 0:04:09that could point to a fake memorabilia factory
0:04:09 > 0:04:11being run from this suburban home.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Now, we've just seized a number of computer items. A tower.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19In fact there's three towers have been seized and telephones also.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23The evidence we'll actually be able to retrieve off of these computers
0:04:23 > 0:04:25will go a long way to actually securing, hopefully,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28a successfully conviction at court at a later date.
0:04:30 > 0:04:33It's a huge success for Trading Standards,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35with 26 bags of evidence,
0:04:35 > 0:04:38including over 60 blank football shirts seized.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42But this might not be the last case of fake memorabilia
0:04:42 > 0:04:45that Neil has to deal with.
0:04:45 > 0:04:46Fake memorabilia has been around
0:04:46 > 0:04:49for as long as famous people have been around.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53Particularly, sports memorabilia seems to be very popular.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55You can get a blank shirt, you can fake a signature on it
0:04:55 > 0:04:58and make significant sums of money from it.
0:04:58 > 0:05:01So it's on the increase. We're finding it more and more.
0:05:01 > 0:05:02Coming up, we meet the people
0:05:02 > 0:05:05who thought they were buying the real thing
0:05:05 > 0:05:08but who have lost thousands of pounds on fake collectors' items.
0:05:08 > 0:05:10I've spent about £9,000.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13It's devastating really,
0:05:13 > 0:05:15because, all of a sudden,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18you've got a room full of stuff that's not worth anything.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26What do you do if someone owes you money and refuses to pay?
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Well, you could hire a debt recovery service to get your money,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31like these guys -
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Barclay Collection Management.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Barclay sounds good, doesn't it? Like the bank.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40I can rest assured they will get my money back in no time.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43But despite appearances, they won't.
0:05:43 > 0:05:44It's a fake company.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47And as we've discovered, they fooled a lot of people
0:05:47 > 0:05:50and swindled them out of tens of thousands of pounds.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56John Thorpe used to run a successful kitchen design and fitting business
0:05:56 > 0:05:58based in Huddersfield.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02He'd had the company for 20 years and things were going well.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I'd run a successful business for all these years,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11with big contracts for lots and lots of different clients
0:06:11 > 0:06:13and had a good reputation.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16On one particular job,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19a customer refused to pay for work that John's company had done.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23John was owed £11,500
0:06:23 > 0:06:27and the huge debt was causing him serious cashflow problems.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32But then, one day, a solution presented itself out of the blue.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36And we got a couple of faxes sent, over two or three days,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40saying Barclays debt collection company. Can we help?
0:06:40 > 0:06:42It seemed fantastic that somebody were going to help us
0:06:42 > 0:06:45get that money back. So I gave them a ring.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48The company, Barclay Collection Management,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52promised to be able to reclaim unpaid debts within six weeks.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56There are legitimate debt collection companies out there,
0:06:56 > 0:06:58helping people to get their money back.
0:06:58 > 0:07:02And because this one was using the names Barclay and Barclays,
0:07:02 > 0:07:04just like the bank,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07John thought he was dealing with a household name.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09I thought it was Barclays Bank.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12Never thought to check out that it wouldn't be anybody else.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16I don't expect somebody else using somebody else's name, like a bank.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21Barclay Collection Management sent a representative
0:07:21 > 0:07:25to meet John and his partner to discuss their case.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29He persuaded them to sign up to the service and pay an upfront fee.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35I think it was about £1,500, or something, to start with.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39John was told that he'd get his £1,500 upfront fee back
0:07:39 > 0:07:42as the costs would be recovered from the other side.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47But over the course of the next few months,
0:07:47 > 0:07:50the company asked John for more and more money.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Even though nothing ever seemed to get done.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56You could more or less say about £1,000 a time.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Which stretched over about eight, nine months.
0:08:02 > 0:08:07Overall, John paid out over £7,500 to the company,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09hoping to get his debt repaid.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11He was struggling financially,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15but all of a sudden he got the news he'd been waiting for.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19The debt company called and told him the client had finally paid his debt
0:08:19 > 0:08:21and the money was ready to hand over.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24But...there was a catch.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28I had to pay the insurance cost of £1,500
0:08:28 > 0:08:30to cover their costs
0:08:30 > 0:08:33and I was at the bank ready to pay the money in.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35Luckily, at that very moment,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39John had a phone call from a concerned family member,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42who thought John might have been targeted by fraudsters.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47I had a phone call on my mobile to say, "Don't pay this money.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49"You must not pay this money."
0:08:49 > 0:08:52John realised the very people he trusted
0:08:52 > 0:08:55were the ones he should have feared.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57But he wasn't the only person to be conned.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59Over at North West Trading Standards,
0:08:59 > 0:09:02Officer Walter Dinn was receiving other complaints
0:09:02 > 0:09:05about the debt recovery company.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08We first became aware of the allegations of fraud
0:09:08 > 0:09:10after a gentleman in Coventry
0:09:10 > 0:09:14was defrauded out of a total of, I think, £8,000.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17It was thought the debt recovery company was fake.
0:09:18 > 0:09:20They promised to recover your debts in full
0:09:20 > 0:09:22within a period of either six or 12 weeks.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26That happened in no case at all that we managed to find.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28Walter investigated further
0:09:28 > 0:09:31and the trail led him to Samaira Sadique
0:09:31 > 0:09:34and her brother Mohammed Ali.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36It's true to say that Samaira Sadique
0:09:36 > 0:09:38was the brains of the outfit.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40And she, day to day, used to call the shots.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Ali operated as a representative
0:09:42 > 0:09:46and Sadique would deploy Ali to the victims.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50The siblings hooked their victims
0:09:50 > 0:09:53by churning out hundreds of thousands of faxes every day,
0:09:53 > 0:09:56containing false information about their fake company.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00They had fax servers
0:10:00 > 0:10:02and those servers are capable of generating
0:10:02 > 0:10:07between 80,000 and 100,000 unsolicited fax messages a night.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12Walter needed hard evidence and so he arranged for John to set up a phone call
0:10:12 > 0:10:14with the debt recovery company
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and secretly recorded the conversation.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19PHONE RINGS
0:10:27 > 0:10:29The woman reminded John
0:10:29 > 0:10:32he just needed to make a final payment of £1,800
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and the money he was owed would be released.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49There was no holding account. The debtor had not paid a penny.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51It was a complete pack of lies.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56John had become a target of a type of advanced fee fraud,
0:10:56 > 0:10:58which is when fraudsters persuade victims
0:10:58 > 0:11:01to make advance or upfront payments for goods and services
0:11:01 > 0:11:03that never materialise.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06It is one of the most common types of confidence tricks,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09claiming thousands of victims each year.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12The huge scale of the fraud being carried out
0:11:12 > 0:11:15by Sadique and her brother was about to unravel.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20Around 100 people had lost money to the fake debt-recovery company,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25with one victim losing over £44,000 to the pair.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27It's difficult to estimate.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29They didn't keep any business records.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33So it could be £250,000, £500,000 of losses in total.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36Sadique pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud
0:11:36 > 0:11:38and her brother pleaded guilty
0:11:38 > 0:11:41to defrauding one victim out of £80,000.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47But there may be no justice for those taken in by their con.
0:11:48 > 0:11:50There is little chance of recovery of the money.
0:11:50 > 0:11:54We think it's gone overseas and it's a difficult matter to recover that.
0:11:54 > 0:11:56The victims, I'm afraid, have lost their money.
0:11:58 > 0:12:02John paid out £7,500 to the fakers.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04He had to close down his company.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06He had to let eight employees go.
0:12:08 > 0:12:12John's former showroom has since been taken over by another business.
0:12:12 > 0:12:13Very upset.
0:12:13 > 0:12:17And it was very hard having to shut down and tell people.
0:12:17 > 0:12:21And I think it's one of the worst things you can be in
0:12:21 > 0:12:22is a scam like that.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30FOOD BLENDER WHIRS
0:12:31 > 0:12:34This gadget might help you get healthier
0:12:34 > 0:12:38because its powerful motor is supposed to pulverise fruit and veg
0:12:38 > 0:12:40to create more wholesome drinks.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42What this one is actually doing, though, I'm not sure.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45It's a fake. This is the real thing, the Nutribullet.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48It's become the latest must-have kitchen gadget.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51And look, they're virtually identical,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53except, while this might be good for you,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56the fake here might be very bad.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59- MAN:- It's a UK phenomenon.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Health conscious Brits have gone mad for blenders,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06especially ones like the Nutribullet.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10Its inventors say its powerful motor helps release more nutrients
0:13:10 > 0:13:12than a regular blender
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and a million of them have been sold in the UK alone.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21Katrina Blake, from West Yorkshire, was hoping to lose some weight
0:13:21 > 0:13:23by using a blender to eat more healthily.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28We're doing some renovations at home, so eating a lot of fast food.
0:13:28 > 0:13:29I thought this seemed a good way
0:13:29 > 0:13:31to get my five a day
0:13:31 > 0:13:33and get some fruit and veg into myself and my husband,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36who doesn't really like eating fruit and vegetables.
0:13:37 > 0:13:42Katrina went online to find a good deal and bought one for £75.
0:13:42 > 0:13:45When it arrived, she couldn't wait to get started.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47I was getting ready for work one morning
0:13:47 > 0:13:49and I prepared all my fruit and vegetables
0:13:49 > 0:13:52and put the Nutribullet on.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55Literally, I was 30 seconds. I ran upstairs to grab my bag.
0:13:55 > 0:13:59I came back downstairs and my husband was shouting in the kitchen.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02So Katrina rushed in to see what the problem was.
0:14:02 > 0:14:04I thought the house was on fire.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07There was such a smell of fresh smoke.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09I just kept thinking, "It's going to blow up.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12"It's going to set the tea towel on fire that's sat at the side of it."
0:14:12 > 0:14:15So I quickly unplugged it and took it outside.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19Katrina had narrowly escaped
0:14:19 > 0:14:22what might have been a catastrophic house fire.
0:14:22 > 0:14:25She tried to contact the seller, but got nowhere.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28So instead, she got in touch with High Street TV,
0:14:28 > 0:14:31Nutribullet's official UK distributors.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34They asked her to send in some photos of her blender
0:14:34 > 0:14:38and she was shocked when it was revealed that it was a fake.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40I thought, if I bought something,
0:14:40 > 0:14:43I thought it'd be real and legitimate.
0:14:43 > 0:14:44I couldn't believe it.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49Andrew Malcher is the boss of High Street TV.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52A number of consumers now contacted us
0:14:52 > 0:14:54with the disappointing news
0:14:54 > 0:14:56that they have indeed purchased a fake product.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58His company's call centre
0:14:58 > 0:15:00is inundated with calls from disgruntled customers
0:15:00 > 0:15:02who've bought fakes.
0:15:02 > 0:15:05And that number is increasing all the time.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07We have hundreds on a monthly basis.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Andrew showed us the difference
0:15:09 > 0:15:12between the fake units and the genuine item.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The telltale signs are, for example,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17if we turn the unit to the back,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19first of all, what we'll see here
0:15:19 > 0:15:22is a number of certification marks.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Whereas the counterfeit unit doesn't have them at all.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28It's not been safety checked in any way.
0:15:28 > 0:15:31And the fakes are just as bad on the inside.
0:15:32 > 0:15:34What we see here, for example,
0:15:34 > 0:15:38this is a very, very high-quality piece of steel.
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Whereas this unit, upon even touching it,
0:15:40 > 0:15:44you can feel that it's an inferior quality on the counterfeit.
0:15:44 > 0:15:48Fake Nutribullets are not just being sold online,
0:15:48 > 0:15:50they are also for sale on the high street.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54Jennifer Farry from High Street TV is going to check it out.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55We've been tipped off
0:15:55 > 0:15:58that there is a guy selling counterfeit Nutribullets.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01So I am about to go and purchase one and see if they are real or not.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Soon Jennifer is back with her purchase.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Time to see if it's a fake.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10On first looking at it, I can tell again that it's not real
0:16:10 > 0:16:12because of the tacky plastic bottom.
0:16:12 > 0:16:15You wouldn't get that on the genuine Nutribullet.
0:16:15 > 0:16:17The fake blenders are clearly selling well.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20While I was inside purchasing one for myself,
0:16:20 > 0:16:22there was three other customers behind me
0:16:22 > 0:16:23also buying one for themselves.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27However, you can't guarantee these counterfeit Nutribullets are safe.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30There are concerns that these machines are dangerous.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32So Fake Britain took a fake blender
0:16:32 > 0:16:35to independent safety expert Steve Curtler,
0:16:35 > 0:16:38from Electrical Safety First.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Steve will simulate a fault to put the fake to the test.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45The test that we're going to apply to the fake Nutribullet
0:16:45 > 0:16:47is one that's foreseeable condition,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51where a fruit stone or something locks the motor
0:16:51 > 0:16:55and then the motor will start to heat up.
0:16:56 > 0:16:58When the motor overheats,
0:16:58 > 0:17:01a built-in safety feature should shut the blender down,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03in order to prevent any injury or fire risk.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06BLENDER WHIRS
0:17:06 > 0:17:07The test gets under way.
0:17:09 > 0:17:11But the blender's not shutting down.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14Things are obviously getting very warm, very quickly.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17And Steve is concerned about the smoke.
0:17:17 > 0:17:19The bit that you can't see
0:17:19 > 0:17:21is the toxic fumes that are being released
0:17:21 > 0:17:24from the damage being caused by the heat.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26And it really does get to the back of your throat
0:17:26 > 0:17:28to the point where it feels like you can't breathe.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31If this was in your kitchen letting off those fumes,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34it would be a serious hazard.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38This fake has definitely failed the safety tests.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42But it's not the worst that Steve has seen.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44We've proved today that, out of the test samples we've got,
0:17:44 > 0:17:46the fake Nutribullet is unsafe.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50But we've had far more dramatic results and more hazardous results
0:17:50 > 0:17:52in the past with testing.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56The main issue you're looking at here is something overheating
0:17:56 > 0:17:58It's just in the laps of the gods
0:17:58 > 0:18:01whether or not this thing catches fire or explodes.
0:18:08 > 0:18:12Earlier on Fake Britain, we followed police and Trading Standards
0:18:12 > 0:18:15cracking down on a suspected memorabilia faker.
0:18:16 > 0:18:19We've got bags and bags of blank shirts.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Whether it's to do with sports or pop music,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26collectible memorabilia is now a multimillion-pound industry,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30popular with teenage fans and adult collectors alike.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35At this established and reputable memorabilia fair in Kensington,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39big money changes hands for celebrity-signed merchandise.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42But fake memorabilia of all sorts is on the rise,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45with people across the country losing hundreds
0:18:45 > 0:18:47and, in some cases, thousands of pounds.
0:18:51 > 0:18:53Jane Body, from Hampshire,
0:18:53 > 0:18:56is a lifelong Manchester United fan
0:18:56 > 0:18:59and loves to buy anything to do with her club or her heroes.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03My parents left me some money when they died
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and I was debating on what to do with it.
0:19:06 > 0:19:09I'd wanted to use it for something so it would help me remember them
0:19:09 > 0:19:11and I thought, "What better than my passion for football?"
0:19:11 > 0:19:14I love football. So I thought,
0:19:14 > 0:19:16"I'll buy as much as I can."
0:19:16 > 0:19:18And then I found Steve.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21That was when I started spending a lot of money.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24The Steve in question was Steve Pearson.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26He'd risen through the local community
0:19:26 > 0:19:30to become a stadium announcer at Portsmouth Football Club.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33He scored the goal!
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Pearson opened a shop selling sporting memorabilia.
0:19:39 > 0:19:43He was fast gaining local celebrity status and Jane was impressed.
0:19:44 > 0:19:45Steve was a brilliant person.
0:19:45 > 0:19:48You went in the shop, he was chatty
0:19:48 > 0:19:51and talked very knowledgeable about, you know, football.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54And so everything that he sold you, you'd think, "Oh, it's wonderful."
0:19:54 > 0:19:58You know, it's signed by this player, signed by that player.
0:19:58 > 0:19:59Jane couldn't resist.
0:19:59 > 0:20:04Before long, she was spending vast sums of money in the shop.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09I've spent about £9,000 plus, on, like, for instance,
0:20:09 > 0:20:11my Bobby Moore shirt.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Maradona. A Messi shirt.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15Cruyff. Cantona.
0:20:15 > 0:20:19At first glance, everything that Jane was spending
0:20:19 > 0:20:23thousands of pounds of her inheritance on did look wonderful.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Suddenly, she got a call from Trading Standards.
0:20:27 > 0:20:28Jane was about to discover
0:20:28 > 0:20:31that Pearson and his glossy signed sports memorabilia
0:20:31 > 0:20:33were not all they appeared to be.
0:20:35 > 0:20:37Somebody informed Trading Standards
0:20:37 > 0:20:42that they thought Steve Pearson was selling fake goods.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45I thought, you know,
0:20:45 > 0:20:48"It is probably just somebody's got a gripe against Steve or something."
0:20:48 > 0:20:52I was still going down the shop once or twice a week.
0:20:52 > 0:20:53And then I suddenly realised
0:20:53 > 0:20:56the second time he came round and warned me
0:20:56 > 0:20:59not to go down the shop any more.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01I realised then I was in trouble.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Trading Standards Service. Craig Copeland speaking.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08The Portsmouth Trading Standards Officer who called Jane
0:21:08 > 0:21:09was Craig Copeland.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12Craig had been getting some very worrying phone calls
0:21:12 > 0:21:16about Steve Pearson and the signed memorabilia that he was selling.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19The allegations against him were that
0:21:19 > 0:21:22they were either purchased counterfeit goods
0:21:22 > 0:21:24that he was selling off as genuine
0:21:24 > 0:21:30or that he was actually creating these signatures on the products.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Allegations about Steve Pearson selling fake memorabilia
0:21:35 > 0:21:36were now flooding in.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40It was time for Trading Standards to draft in an expert opinion.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45So they turned to leading autograph memorabilia specialist Gary King.
0:21:45 > 0:21:48His knowledge of memorabilia, both real and fake,
0:21:48 > 0:21:50has helped to bring dozens of prosecutions
0:21:50 > 0:21:54and even put one fraudster behind bars.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Gary believes that fake memorabilia is rife across the country.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02Fake memorabilia is a serious problem.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06There are so many items out there that are just absolute rubbish.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10It was up to Gary to examine Jane's football memorabilia
0:22:10 > 0:22:14and to break some very bad news.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16- Yes. - It's certainly not Peter Shilton.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19- No.- And that is definitely not Bobby Charlton.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22The signatures of footballing legends Peter Shilton,
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Bobby Charlton, Ronaldinho...
0:22:25 > 0:22:27- I would say that that is not authentic.- Look.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29..all of them fake.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Jane is fascinated by Bobby Moore, the England captain,
0:22:32 > 0:22:36who famously held the World Cup aloft after England's 1966 win.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39So her biggest purchase from Pearson
0:22:39 > 0:22:41was a signed Bobby Moore shirt.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43Very proud of this. It was out in my hall.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45It's like a Holy Grail, really.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50And then you find, no, it's not Bobby Moore.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53£650 plus £150 for the frame.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57And it was a fake shirt.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00And now I've got a house full of stuff that's...
0:23:00 > 0:23:02that's no use to anybody now.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04It's devastating, really.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Jane had unwittingly surrounded herself with fake memorabilia
0:23:10 > 0:23:13worth far less than she paid for it.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17But at least one good thing was to come out of this.
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Gary King's analysis of the fakes
0:23:19 > 0:23:22gave Craig and the team at Portsmouth Trading Standards
0:23:22 > 0:23:26enough evidence to finally raid Steve Pearson's property.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29They were shocked by the scale of what they found.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Over 100 items of fake signed memorabilia.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35And not just football.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39This is a glove containing the signature of Muhammad Ali.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43It's definitely not the signature of Muhammad Ali.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47We found one of these on sale in his shop for £900.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49It's a massive amount
0:23:49 > 0:23:51and anybody who is going to part with that much money
0:23:51 > 0:23:55to get an item like this, I mean, is going to be absolutely devastated.
0:23:55 > 0:23:59Pearson's fakery even infected the certificates of authenticity
0:23:59 > 0:24:01that came with the memorabilia
0:24:01 > 0:24:03to fool people into thinking it was the real deal.
0:24:03 > 0:24:07They basically outline that he's purchasing
0:24:07 > 0:24:09only from reputable dealers,
0:24:09 > 0:24:12that he's a member of a trade organisation.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14And this, of course, is completely not the case.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17He has no...no expertise in the industry,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19He's never been a member of the trade associations
0:24:19 > 0:24:20that he claimed to be
0:24:20 > 0:24:22and these are not worth the paper they're printed on.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Pearson had fooled dozens of collectors
0:24:27 > 0:24:29with his fake memorabilia,
0:24:29 > 0:24:31but he wasn't just targeting super fans.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34He was also targeting investors.
0:24:34 > 0:24:38Jim Conway, from Portsmouth, invests in rare memorabilia.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41He collects everything from cars to guitars.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43In total, with Steve Pearson,
0:24:43 > 0:24:48I approximately spent £6,000-£7,000
0:24:48 > 0:24:50over five years.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54I will spend, not only just to build up a nice collection,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57but later on, it would be me pension money
0:24:57 > 0:24:58and one day I'll say,
0:24:58 > 0:25:01"Oh, I'll sell it now and get a nice lump back."
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Hopefully, it was going to go up in value.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06Let's see what you've got.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11As an expert witness in the case,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13Gary had to examine some of the memorabilia
0:25:13 > 0:25:16that Jim bought from Steve Pearson,
0:25:16 > 0:25:18but he hasn't yet seen everything.
0:25:18 > 0:25:19Today, he's visiting Jim
0:25:19 > 0:25:22to see if he might be able to bring some good news.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27Let's have a look. Well, that's not Tiger Woods.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29No. That's not authentic.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Gary also examines this apparently rare photograph
0:25:32 > 0:25:34signed by John Lennon.
0:25:34 > 0:25:35Now, how much did you pay for this?
0:25:35 > 0:25:38- About 200.- £200?
0:25:38 > 0:25:40It's printed.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43As a print, it's probably something you could buy, you know,
0:25:43 > 0:25:47in a shop somewhere for nothing more than £10.
0:25:48 > 0:25:49- Wow.- I'm sorry about that.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52But Jim hasn't only bought memorabilia
0:25:52 > 0:25:54from Steve Pearson over the years.
0:25:54 > 0:25:56He's been an investor for decades
0:25:56 > 0:25:59and bought a range of signed electric guitars from other sellers
0:25:59 > 0:26:02before he even knew about Steve Pearson.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05During filming, Gary spots them and decides to take a closer look.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10This one is meant to be the Rolling Stones.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15So we've got Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17This is Charlie Watts.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20And I honestly have no idea...
0:26:21 > 0:26:24- ..who that one is meant to be at all.- OK.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27But they are not authentic.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30That was signed in somebody's bedroom.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32And this one here.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35- This one's pink...- Yeah. - ..but it's not Pink Floyd.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37They are very difficult to get signatures from.
0:26:37 > 0:26:42Dave Gilmour, in particular, is a very tough signature to get.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Shockingly, these aren't the only unexpected fakes
0:26:45 > 0:26:47in Jim's collection.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Bruce, Cliff, The Eagles, they're all fake.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52I expected Steve Pearson's to be fake,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55because of the nature of the investigation and the court case.
0:26:55 > 0:26:58But obviously I didn't expect these to be fake,
0:26:58 > 0:26:59which never even come from...
0:26:59 > 0:27:02Unfortunately, Steve Pearson is not the only person
0:27:02 > 0:27:04who's faking this stuff.
0:27:04 > 0:27:05- It's upsetting, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08Yeah. I'm not collecting no more.
0:27:08 > 0:27:09Not interested.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12It has put me off collecting, you know?
0:27:12 > 0:27:16Because there's so many unscrupulous people out there, and as I said,
0:27:16 > 0:27:18I thought Steve Pearson was a friend,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21but, obviously, he was just lining his own pockets.
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Steve Pearson eventually pleaded guilty to 13 counts of fraud
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and was ordered to pay over £2,500 compensation to his victims.
0:27:31 > 0:27:33He was sentenced to 14 months in prison,
0:27:33 > 0:27:38suspended for two years and given 200 hours' community service.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42But it will take Jim and Jane longer than that to get over their loss.
0:27:43 > 0:27:44- JANE:- It's the fact he's got me,
0:27:44 > 0:27:46it's the fact he's done everybody else.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- Um... - What are you feeling right now?
0:27:52 > 0:27:54Upset with him. Angry with him.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59You're just kind of shattered because, all of a sudden,
0:27:59 > 0:28:02you've got a room full of stuff that's not worth anything.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06The amount of money that I've lost will always be with me.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15That's all from Fake Britain. Goodbye!