Rihanna and Uncle
Rihanna’s uncle has been busted for allegedly selling knock-offs of her range of Puma designer sports gear.
Leroy Brathwaite, 53, was arrested after the ‘Diamonds’ singer asked cops to track down a mystery scammer hawking fake clobber in her native Barbados.
Rihanna, 29, spotted the dodgy slippers and T-shirts from her Fenty clothing line being sold in Swan Street in the capital Bridgetown, reports the Nation Newspaper.
She told bosses at Puma, who sent an investigator to the island. He verified the stall was selling fakes and called in cops.
In March, officers arrested the star’s own uncle Leroy, a Bajun singer who goes by the stage names Daddy I-Roy and De Warrior.
A Puma representative was in court earlier this week as Brathwaite appeared before magistrates charged under the consumer protection act.
He had 11 pairs of knock-off Puma slippers and 13 shirts valued at around £750, prosecutors said.
Some items in the genuine Fenty by Rihanna clothing range sell for hundreds of pounds, from £68 flip-flops to knee-high boots priced at £900.
Brathwaite denied false representation and misleading shoppers by selling the counterfeit goods.
His defence attorney argues the charges were improperly laid and should be dismissed.
She said trading standards officers should have given him a warning by before any prosecution.
Brathwaite was freed on bail until another hearing next week.
His niece’s Puma clothes have been a hit with fans since she paired up with the German sportswear brand in 2014.
In September, she also released her own make-up collection, Fenty Beauty.