A woman who swindled hundreds of people by selling them fake goods on eBay has been given a suspended prison sentence following an investigation by Wandsworth trading standards officers.

Kitty Lin-Wilson, from Balham, raked in thousands of pounds by duping her online customers into believing that the items she sold them were genuine - but in reality they were all poor quality counterfeits.

Her online customers paid top end prices for a range of phony goods including cosmetics, make up brushes, purses, bags and clothing - advertised as genuine items from exclusive companies like Chanel and Estee Lauder. Her business exploits involved so many eBay and Paypal accounts that when she was being interviewed under caution she claimed not to be able to remember all of them.

On Thursday Lin-Wilson, from Gosberton Road, was given a six month jail sentence, suspended for two years, by a judge at Kingston Crown Court. She had pleaded guilty to seven breaches of the Trade Marks Act 1984 at an earlier hearing and also admitted a money laundering offence.

The court heard that an investigation was launched into her activities when representatives from Estee Lauder contacted trading standards officers to complain that Lin Wilson was breaching trade mark laws.

After confirming that items she was selling via various eBay accounts were fake, trading standards officers accompanied by the police raided her home address and found hundreds of counterfeit items, including handbags, computer disks and DVDs.

Financial investigators also discovered that in the 19 month period between July 2007 and February 2009, more than £76,000 had been paid into various Paypal accounts she controlled.

Following her conviction and sentencing, the council is also taking further legal action against Mrs Lin-Wilson by seeking a money confiscation order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. This is to ensure that she does not keep the profits she gleaned from her criminal activities.

The council's spokesman on consumer protection Cllr Sarah McDermott said: "Many hundreds of people were conned by this lady into handing over large sums of money for fake and replica goods.

"She was making considerable sums from this scam - and passing off inferior and low quality goods to her customers.

"People were not getting a cut price bargain from her - they were getting poor quality rip offs. We have now launched additional legal action against Mrs Lin-Wilson to makes sure she is not allowed to keep her ill-gotten gains."

Law enforcement agencies in the UK and Europe argue that many of the people involved in the production and manufacture of counterfeit goods have links to organised criminal gangs who use the profits they generate to finance people smuggling, fraud, drugs and prostitution. Concerns have also been expressed that some of the profits from this trade may also be used to finance acts of terrorism.

Anyone with concerns about fake and counterfeit items being sold in Wandsworth should contact the council's trading standards team on (020) 8871 7720 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.