London man sentenced for £2.7 million counterfeit vinyl scheme

Rehan Ahmed, a 40-year-old man from West London, has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison by the Inner London Crown Court for operating a massive counterfeit vinyl record business. Over a seven-year period, Ahmed generated more than £2.7 million in profit by manufacturing and selling fake records featuring more than 108 famous artists, including The Beatles, Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Adele, Ariana Grande, Drake, Beyoncé, and Rihanna.

The illegal operation was uncovered in February 2024 after representatives from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) conducted a sting operation, purchasing records from Ahmed’s ‘Phoenix of Vinyl’ warehouse in Acton. Subsequent police raids resulted in the seizure of 2,791 counterfeit vinyl records, which authorities described as the largest seizure of fake vinyl in the country during a single operation.

In addition to the records, police confiscated approximately 18 tons of evidence, including four 70-year-old vinyl pressing machines, 3,000 metal stampers, and thousands of record covers and center labels. Investigators noted that Ahmed exploited the growing popularity of vinyl records to run a highly organized and illegal manufacturing operation that harmed artists, record labels, and legitimate music retailers.