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CultureQuiet 5d · day 6

London vinyl counterfeiter Rehan Ahmed jailed for industrial-scale fraud

Rehan Ahmed, who ran a fake-vinyl operation selling counterfeit Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Kendrick Lamar records, is sentenced to prison in the UK's biggest such case.

newest coverage 5d agosummary written 5d ago5 pieces19 likes & upvotes MastodonNewswiresGoogle News

What to know

  • Rehan Ahmed was jailed in the UK's biggest-ever counterfeit vinyl case, sentenced to three and a half years (concurrent with a lesser term) after pleading guilty to copyright breach and handling criminal property.
  • Police found 15,000 fake records at his factory; he sold counterfeits of artists including Taylor Swift, Coldplay and Kendrick Lamar via Discogs and eBay under the names Phoenix of Vinyl and Paragon Music.
  • The case reflects a broader surge in vinyl counterfeiting tied to record sales growth: BPI has seized roughly 600,000 counterfeit items worth up to £8m over two years, and eBay removed 7.9m potentially counterfeit listings in 2025.

“wider harm to the music industry”

Judge Darren Reed, Sentencing judge · The Guardian ↗ · Sep 18

Rehan Ahmed Convicted counterfeit vinyl sellerJudge Darren Reed Sentencing judge, Inner London crown courtBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI) Music industry trade bodyeBay Online marketplace where fakes were sold

London vinyl counterfeiter Rehan Ahmed jailed for industrial-scale fraud
theguardian.com

How it unfolded 1 development · click the chart to see its coverage articlesposts

Peak 4 pieces in two hours at Sep 19, 1 AM; 5 pieces over 6 days (4 articles · 1 post) Sep 19, 1 AM — 4 pieces · 4 articles — Newswires 2, Google News 1, Mastodon 1Sep 19, 3 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Sep 19, 5 AM — quietSep 19, 7 AM — quietSep 19, 9 AM — quietSep 19, 11 AM — quietSep 19, 1 PM — quietSep 19, 3 PM — quietSep 19, 5 PM — quietSep 19, 7 PM — quietSep 19, 9 PM — quietSep 19, 11 PM — quietSep 20, 1 AM — quietSep 20, 3 AM — quietSep 20, 5 AM — quietSep 20, 7 AM — quietSep 20, 9 AM — quietSep 20, 11 AM — quietSep 20, 1 PM — quietSep 20, 3 PM — quietSep 20, 5 PM — quietSep 20, 7 PM — quietSep 20, 9 PM — quietSep 20, 11 PM — quietSep 21, 1 AM — quietSep 21, 3 AM — quietSep 21, 5 AM — quietSep 21, 7 AM — quietSep 21, 9 AM — quietSep 21, 11 AM — quietSep 21, 1 PM — quietSep 21, 3 PM — quietSep 21, 5 PM — quietSep 21, 7 PM — quietSep 21, 9 PM — quietSep 21, 11 PM — quietSep 22, 1 AM — quietSep 22, 3 AM — quietSep 22, 5 AM — quietSep 22, 7 AM — quietSep 22, 9 AM — quietSep 22, 11 AM — quietSep 22, 1 PM — quietSep 22, 3 PM — quietSep 22, 5 PM — quietSep 22, 7 PM — quietSep 22, 9 PM — quietSep 22, 11 PM — quietYesterday, 1 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 5 AM — quietYesterday, 7 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 11 AM — quietYesterday, 1 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 5 PM — quietYesterday, 7 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 11 PM — quietToday, 1 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 5 AM — quietToday, 7 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quietToday, 11 AM — quietToday, 1 PM — quiet 1
Sep 20Sep 21Sep 22yesterdaynow · 2:25 PM ET
  1. 1

    Guardian details wider counterfeit-vinyl industry scale

    Reporting places Ahmed's case in the context of a booming vinyl market — UK sales up 13.3% in 2025 to 7.6m units, US retail value over $1bn — with the BPI citing 43 search warrants and about 600,000 seized items worth up to £8m over two years, and eBay saying it removed 7.9m potentially counterfeit listings in 2025.

    “Counterfeits are strictly prohibited on eBay. Where listings violate eBay policies, we act swiftly to remove them and may take action against the seller’s account.”
    — eBay spokesperson
    1. 3 outlets Deep cuts: how one Londoner’s fake vinyl empire sheds light on ‘industrial scale’ fraud

      first by Mastodon, 5d ago · also The Guardian, Guardian Culture

  2. background

    Ahmed pleads guilty and is sentenced to prison — At Inner London crown court, Ahmed pleaded guilty to two charges — breach of artists' copyright and acquiring/using criminal property. Judge Darren Reed sentenced him to two years and eight months on the first count and three and a half years on the second, to run concurrently.

  3. background

    Police raid Ahmed's factory, seize 15,000 records — Anti-counterfeit police raided Ahmed's factory and found 15,000 counterfeit vinyl records; he had supplied fakes to record shops and sold them directly via Discogs and eBay.

  4. background

    Ahmed begins building fraudulent vinyl business — From 2017 onwards, Rehan Ahmed presented himself as a legitimate entrepreneur while secretly building a counterfeit vinyl operation under the company names Phoenix of Vinyl and Paragon Music.