Fraudster mum who made £4.2m flogging faux Chanel luggage stated £158k money was youngsters’ financial savings
Megan Carney-Borrowman sold counterfeit goods purporting to be Chanel, Burberry and Versace after being approached because of her success selling weight-loss medication online
Megan Carney-Borrowman during a police raid at her home(Image: NWROCU)
A fraudulent mum who flogged fake designer clothes via an Instagram account insisted that £158,000 in cash hidden among baby clothes was her children’s life savings. Megan Carney-Borrowman peddled the dodgy merchandise from high-end fashion houses to thousands of social media followers, declaring that items couldn’t be exchanged or refunded, regardless of customer satisfaction.
The Southport mother-of-four hawked counterfeit items masquerading as Chanel, Burberry and Versace after being contacted due to her profitable online weight-loss medication business.
The operation proved extremely profitable, with business accounts connected to the mum revealing that over £4million was deposited across four years, though the exact amount she personally gained from the criminal enterprise couldn’t be established.
Megan Carney-Borrowman, 35, was sentenced to four years and three months for leading a counterfeit goods plot(Image: NWROCU)
Carney-Borrowman received assistance from her 35-year-old husband Jordan Borrowman, along with her mother Sandra Carney, 65, who also enlisted her longtime business associate Adam Yaffe, 53. The quartet faced sentencing across two days at Liverpool Crown Court this week.
Carney-Borrowman and her spouse’s property was first searched in November 2022 following a tip-off from Chanel to anti-crime authorities about the illegal operation. Both were absent during the raid, and when subsequently questioned, they alleged they didn’t have access to their mobile phones.
Borrowman claimed his phone had gone missing and was never retrieved, though the court was told it remained in use after his arrest. Meanwhile, Carney-Borrowman attempted to mislead officers by presenting her son’s device in a botched effort to pass it off as her own, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Cash seized from Megan Carney-Borrowman’s family home in connection with her counterfeit goods conspiracy(Image: NWROCU)
Nevertheless, Carney’s mobile was eventually found, and messages within it led police to discover Yaffe’s role in the scheme. Examination of Carney-Borrowman’s bank accounts after her initial arrest revealed she had made substantial cash withdrawals, prompting authorities to search her property once more in April 2023. The second raid resulted in the discovery of her phone, hidden on top of the curtain rail in the main bedroom.
More crucially though, as James Rae, prosecuting, informed the court: “She also sought to prevent the officers searching her baby’s bedroom, although it became apparent that the real reason was that there was £158,000 in cash concealed in there. This was seized despite the defendant claiming that it was her children’s savings that she had withdrawn.”
The recovery of the phone proved crucial to the investigation, revealing a “very large volume of chats from which it was overwhelmingly evident that she was selling counterfeit goods and using a ‘drop-shipping’ method to import them from the overseas supplier directly to the customer’s address”. Officers discovered Carney-Borrowman possessed eight business bank accounts alongside 18 personal accounts, some registered under her young children’s names.
A Rolex seized by NWROCU from Megan Carney-Borrowman’s wrist(Image: NWROCU)
The court was told that between 2019 and 2023 the business accounts received nearly £4,319,952.73, with £753,419.50 of this sum transferred into her personal accounts.
Carney-Borrowman was subsequently detained for benefit fraud in May 2024, with a Department of Work and Pensions investigation revealing she had profited by approximately £68,300 through failing to declare her self-employment earnings; her acquisition of two properties; her cohabitation with Borrowman; and their combined assets.
She was additionally discovered to have submitted a fraudulent insurance claim after informing Halifax she had misplaced her costly Rolex during an evening out in Blackpool. However, when NWROCU officers visited her residence, they spotted a Rolex on her wrist bearing the identical serial number as the supposedly missing timepiece.
Video footage from the NWROCU captures the moment an officer challenged Carney-Borrowman about the Rolex on her wrist. When questioned whether she was wearing a Rolex, she informed an officer “it’s not real…you’re not taking it off me. It was for my 30th birthday”.
Following demands to surrender it, she continued: “It’s actually my mum and dad who got it for me so I could probably get a receipt.”
When pressed about its authenticity, Carney-Borrowman altered her response and acknowledged it was genuine. Mr Rae informed the court that Carney-Borrowman was the “prime mover” in the offending, “clearly supported and encouraged by her mother”.
Borrowman was described as having been a substantial beneficiary from the counterfeiting proceeds, and had occasionally sold, packaged and transported goods as part of the conspiracy, albeit in a supporting capacity. Meanwhile Yaffe was reported to have “encouraged, cautioned and advised” Carney-Borrowman.
In mitigation, Nicholas Clarke, representing Carney-Borrowman, informed the court her remorse was not self-pitying but “reflective of the genuine fear she has for her children”. He explained there were developmental concerns regarding all her children, and her youngest had ongoing appointments at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.
Mr Clarke stated: “Her children revolve around her and most of her waking life is dealing with them…the reports set out the concerns she has about all of the children being looked after by others…the older children’s dad has his own court case in this building. Megan has serious concerns if Jordan will be able to deal with the younger children on his own.”
He revealed to the court that Carney-Borrowman suffered from PTSD following the tragic death of a child in April 2022. The prosecution alleged that Carney-Borrowman had deceived the author of her original pre-sentence report and claimed she only began selling counterfeit goods as a result of her daughter’s death when she felt unable to engage in conventional employment.
Michael Lavery, representing Carney, told the court his client had grafted throughout her adult life, had performed numerous charitable deeds “over a number of years to assist people less fortunate than her” and had provided for her two daughters; both of whom had offspring of their own.
He addressed the court: “It seems to anyone approaching this case that this is a mother doing her best for a daughter who has a number of problems, including the loss of a child. There is no more a person than a mother who wants to help her child, misguided and naïve it has been.”
Richard Vardon, defending Borrowman, said: “You have heard about his children and their complex needs. It may be the position that the mother of the children cannot care for them in the immediate future so they would be more impacted if this defendant was to go to prison as well.”
Andy Evans, speaking for Yaffe, informed the court his client’s wrongdoing was defined by his relationship with Carney-Borrowman. “He assisted her with things mundane, things tragic and difficult, and things happier, such as becoming her wedding photographer,” he said.
During sentencing, Judge Louise Brandon said: “The business operated through Instagram accounts and WhatsApp ordering systems with multiple bank accounts, corporate structures, direct overseas suppliers, drop-ship methods, concealed payments and efforts to avoid detection.”
Carney-Borrowman, 35, residing at Birdling Drive in Southport, received a sentence of four years and three months for conspiracy to commit trademark offences, conspiracy to launder money, benefit fraud, and conspiracy to defraud.
Borrowman, 35, living at the same address, was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and 120 hours of unpaid work after admitting to conspiracy to commit trademark offences, conspiracy to launder money and benefit fraud.
Carney, 65, of Court Road, was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for 18 months, along with 120 hours of unpaid work after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit trademark offences, conspiracy to acquire criminal property, aiding and abetting fraud and conspiracy to defraud.
Yaffe was handed an 18-month community order and 120 hours of unpaid work after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit trademark offences and conspiracy to acquire criminal property, but he walked free from court.
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