Recieved cease and desist letter

[JamesNorth101]

Originally Posted by spk

Update:
Last week, the criminal police suddenly showed up at my door with a search warrant related to the aforementioned brand, which filed a complaint against me for trademark infringement. They probably got my address from Stripe. I had a few test shirts lying around at home, which they confiscated, along with shirts from other brands that will also be informed about the situation. Unfortunately, my PC was on at the time, and they found the shirt templates on it. However, they only took pictures and did not confiscate the PC.

There’s a lot coming my way now. I was aware of the risks before starting my business. Guys, watch your backs—it can all happen so fast.

Hopefully you just get off with a warning

You would think with how things are the police would have better things to do with their time

[murdered_by_ebay]

Originally Posted by spk

Update:
Last week, the criminal police suddenly showed up at my door with a search warrant related to the aforementioned brand, which filed a complaint against me for trademark infringement. They probably got my address from Stripe. I had a few test shirts lying around at home, which they confiscated, along with shirts from other brands that will also be informed about the situation. Unfortunately, my PC was on at the time, and they found the shirt templates on it. However, they only took pictures and did not confiscate the PC.

There’s a lot coming my way now. I was aware of the risks before starting my business. Guys, watch your backs—it can all happen so fast.

you are doing business in the wrong country , although this may happen to anyone , germany has a much higher risk than others as they open criminal enquiries for any complaint they receive and they do hundreds of thousands of home searches per year even for small violations

I can only recommend you to go to a different EU country and close the business down in germany

as far as the consequences are concerned you better take an attorney now and ask him to get a copy of your files from the police

the police will certainly send samples to brands to find out whether they are counterfeits and they will evaluate your turnover and send the details to the tax authority

it does not matter how many shirts you had at home they look at sales data and if necessary they contact the buyers to get the items from them , if all items turn out to be counterfeit they will contact all buyers and may ask them to turn over the received items

if you do not have a criminal history you should be able to get away with a warning and a fine without going to jail

but unfortunately your accounts where you sent money to your bank from are gone , they will evaluate your bank statements and send an enquiry to all marketplaces where you sell so that you will need new accounts and preferrably in another EU country

additionally if you have property/car/assets/bank deposits in your name you should get rid of them now and urgently because the brands will take you to court and will be trying to get hold of all assets you have , they usually check in advance so if they see nothing they may not act

tax authority finanzamt works slowly but if you should have had significant turnover which you did not state in your tax returns they will be demanding taxes plus fine , this is another reason to get rid of all assets now and set up residence in another EU country

[JamesNorth101]

Agree that 100% you really do need to talk to a lawyer at this point if you have not already

[murdered_by_ebay]

I was actually warning about the police in one of my posts above

it is not a 6th sense though , I am just familiar with how they do business in germany , such companies always file a police complaint if they did not manage to get compensation

they do it specifically in germany because it works there well , in most other EU countries it is a difficult process so that they usually just use VERO to get items and possibly the seller removed

[spk]

The good thing is, they didn't have access to the website or accounting records, so they don't know how much or to whom I sold. I only sell in my own shop, not on marketplaces. Taxes were properly filed. Around 10% of the sales were branded shirts; the rest were legal designs. They saw this during the search as well. I'm now waiting to receive letters from the brands. They will probably sue me for damages, but I wonder how they plan to do that if they don't know the extent of the damage they suffered.

[agent006140]

They dont have to tell you the extent of damages .
It is not like you sell 1 shirt,damage is $xx,2 shirts damage is $xxx.
where are you?China or Germany?
As to someone suggested you sell all your assets,if they are just bank accounts,stocks,turn them into cash or gold.
This sounds serious,the police actually come to your house and take copies from your PC and seize the merchandise
You said it is a car company,is it German,-MERCEDES,PORSCHE,BMW?

[firebriar]

I will say a prayer for you. years ago I received a cease and desist from beachbody. I think from p90x and shaun T insanity workouts. either way I never responded to the letters and stopped selling that stuff altogether this was like 2013.

[murdered_by_ebay]

Originally Posted by spk

The good thing is, they didn't have access to the website or accounting records, so they don't know how much or to whom I sold. I only sell in my own shop, not on marketplaces. Taxes were properly filed. Around 10% of the sales were branded shirts; the rest were legal designs. They saw this during the search as well. I'm now waiting to receive letters from the brands. They will probably sue me for damages, but I wonder how they plan to do that if they don't know the extent of the damage they suffered.

they usually ask to provide that information so you would need to figure out what you are ready to provide as the law contains an obligation for you to cooperate

if there are no problems with taxes your main problem for now is the criminal case , they were likely asking questions during the home search and have given you an invitation to an interview - that would be a police interrogation

make sure you do not tell them anything and do not go to the police , instead hire an attorney and they will contact the police on your behalf , from that point police / prosecutors / court would not contact you directly but only through attorney

it is important to avoid jail time , for this reason make sure not to say anything to anyone except your attorney

as a suspect you are not obliged to go to the police or incriminate yourself or make any statements but any information you provide can be used as evidence against you

if you receive an invitation to interrogation from the prosecutor's office you are obliged to go otherwise the police will come and bring you there - make sure to go with attorney , do not go alone , do not say anything

and finally you do not discuss anything with your attorney through email or phone but only personally in their office , german police regularly tap phones and intercept messages sent to attorneys , although it is illegal they would be allowed to use it in court

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by SaiJin

You guys in UK and EU sounds like the cops have access to everything?

In USA,IRS can ask Ebay for your sales records,they did when they audit a dealer "s income tax return.
So can the police

[spk]

The criminal complaint came from one of the largest German car brands, but we also sold products from other major car brands, including shirts, which were also taken. They will be informed. What would be the better option: converting all the money into gold or Bitcoin? During the search, I didn’t say a word. Thanks to all of you for your answers.

[murdered_by_ebay]

with money you can take a basket of several liquid methods , just make sure it is not registered in your name in a bank or elsewhere and also not in a safety deposit box registered in your name

the worst case scenario is if all these companies get court verdicts against you for sum that you can not afford , in this case it would better to move to another EU country

[agent006140]

Do you need the money for living expenses like rent,food,gas,insurance>
You can prepaid your landlord if you intend to stay ,prepaid auto,insurance and buy some debit cards for small purchases.
In USA,grocery stores often discount their debit cards.
I agree,move to another country,your sign said Switzerland/Malta,Corsica

[murdered_by_ebay]

Originally Posted by agent006140

Do you need the money for living expenses like rent,food,gas,insurance>
You can prepaid your landlord if you intend to stay ,prepaid auto,insurance and buy some debit cards for small purchases.
In USA,grocery stores often discount their debit cards.
I agree,move to another country,your sign said Switzerland/Malta,Corsica

his situation with other countries is a lot simpler than for an american because he has EU citizenship and can choose from 20+ countries to move to , he would not require immigration docs there and all these countries are in close proximity

his main problem is the criminal case , he can not move away officially as long as the case is open as this could be interpreted as flight and may bring him to prison , a judge would likely sign an arrest warrant without checking further as change of residence to another country or unknown place is usually considered as flight by default

[agent006140]

Her sign said Switzerland,thats not in EU,so she can go back there.

[rsot]

murdered_by_ebay has laid out a lot of info - time for lawyer seems in order

[agent006140]

Originally Posted by rsot

murdered_by_ebay has laid out a lot of info - time for lawyer seems in order

This is scary,having police come into your house and seize merchandise and take pictures of what you have on the PC screen.
I would not spend any money on lawyer,just pack up and leave the country ASAP.(and quietly,leave no trace so they can find you)

[murdered_by_ebay]

Originally Posted by agent006140

This is scary,having police come into your house and seize merchandise and take pictures of what you have on the PC screen.
I would not spend any money on lawyer,just pack up and leave the country ASAP.(and quietly,leave no trace so they can find you)

this is logic of hardcore criminals who already prepared flight routes

joe sixpack would not go anywhere so quickly

[SaiJin]

it's scary enough the feds actually knocked on his doors

[murdered_by_ebay]

it was not feds , just local police. if he had a case worthy of an investigation by the german version of feds he would be sitting in jail now awaiting his trial

[murdered_by_ebay]

in germany they just knock , if nobody answers they call a company that can open doors , they break the lock and come in

kicking doors open that is not for a home search but for arrest

[murdered_by_ebay]

Originally Posted by agent006140

what makes you think it is a HE,not a SHE?

I don't care , I usually write he or it so if someone is not satisfied with me calling them he I am ready to change to it

[rsot]

Originally Posted by agent006140

thats ok,it does not matter what gender.
I usually figure from the way he/she writes and what he/she is writing about -she is more thorough,write better and type better.

thanks for the sunday chuckle gender relevance...