Four charged with selling fake shoes in Greece

Greek police have filed charges against four people accused of running a social media scam that resulted in more than 1,300 people buying counterfeit shoes.

The advertising – which appeared on Facebook according to local press reports – involved branded footwear that was being offered for sale at suspiciously low prices. Rather than the genuine articles, purchasers were sent cheap, low-quality copies, said the Hellenic Police in a statement (in Greek).

Charges have been filed against four people aged 62, 43, 39 and 34- for their alleged role in the scam. Using seven social media accounts and claiming to be the owners of shoe companies based in Greece and Bulgaria tat on investigation turned out to be fictitious.

The investigation and preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had deceived a total of 1,353 purchasers over the preceding six months, making illegal profits amounting to more than €100,000 ($118,000).

The case file has now been forwarded to the prosecutor in Serres, northern Greece, says the statement.