Two year jail sentence for Isle of Wight festival fakes man

THE aftermath of the fake wristbands that hit the Isle of Wight Festival cost organisers tens of thousands of pounds, a court was told.

Sophisticated scanning equipment cost more than £40,000 and extra staff and ramped-up police and private security an extra £45,000 in the wake of the 5,000 counterfeit wristbands being produced for the 2007 sell-out festival headlined by the Rolling Stones.

Two Islanders, property developer Jacob Henry Cloud, 40, of Luccombe Road, Shanklin, and Sherrell Davenport, 29, of Surbiton Grove, Ryde, were cleared of any involvement at a Portsmouth Crown Court trial in January.

Earlier in the case, Bradley Govier, 42, of High Street, Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and John Smith, 29, of South Road, Hanworth, Middlesex, admitted their part in the conspiracy.

Govier, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, was jailed for two years at the Isle of Wight
Crown Court on Friday by Judge Gareth Cowling.

Smith, who admitted touting fake wristbands, was ordered to do 250 hours’ community service and pay £500 costs and have £650 he made from selling the bands confiscated.

The scale of the fraudulent bands emerged on the Friday opening afternoon of the Isle of Wight Festival. Resultant security checks resulted in huge queues and some people missing all of the show, said Paul Dugdale, prosecuting.

The police investigation into the fakes, which could have grossed £500,000 and had big health and safety, medical and sanitary implications for the festival, revealed other events, including Bestival and the V Festival, had previously been hit in a similar way, Mr Dugdale said.

Fraudsters got inside information about wristband colours a couple of days before events, bulk-bought blank bands and printed artwork obtained from festival insiders on them.

For Govier, Ben Aina, QC, said his client made only £800 profit from his involvement.

“He was not the organiser, but a facilitator,” said Mr Aina.

For Smith, Tyrone Smith said his client had no previous convictions. He usually sold bona-fide tickets to events and only became involved in selling the Isle of Wight Festival wristbands at the eleventh hour.

Sentencing Govier, Judge Cowling told him his role was pivotal to sustained and deliberate multiple frauds.

Smith’s clean record and personal circumstances contributed to a non-custodial sentence.

Source: iwcp

Tags: Admission Control, event health & safety, event medical services, fake wristbands, Isle of Wight Festival, Ticket Touts, wristbands

Category: Event Ticketing, Festival News