Woman faces 57 months in jail for selling fake Hermés bags

A US woman has been sentenced to 57 months in jail for selling counterfeit Hermés handbags online.

Jeannine Buford ran the operation from her home for more than five years but shut down within a month of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sting in September 2011. An undercover FBI agent bought a fake handbag from Buford and one year later she faces a lengthy jail term.

From March 2010 to April 2011 the FBI estimates Buford made more than $500,000 (€386,000) from sales of fake handbags. Buford bought the counterfeit handbags from China for sale online.

In June Buford pleaded guilty to one felony count of trafficking in counterfeit goods. As well as facing close to five years in jail, Buford must pay $255,500 in restitution and forfeit a Chevrolet Camaro, Porsche Cayenne, more than $5,000 in cash and sixteen designer handbags.