The former operator of two online electronics stores has been sentenced to three months in prison, after he failed to comply with court orders dating back to 2015.
Dhruv Chopra was the sole operator of retail site Electronic Bazaar in 2015, selling electric goods such as camcorders, mobile phones and laptops, when the Federal Court ordered him to pay penalties of $100,000.
![Dhruv Chopra, who has been sentenced to three month in prison.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170704223307im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/0/i/8/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx0hjw.png/1498702951473.jpg)
The penalties followed proceedings brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in relation to false or misleading representations made to consumers about refunds and the extent of Electronic Bazaar's liability for faulty goods.
At that time, ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the court's decision "to impose a significant penalty on Chopra, a sole trader, for misrepresenting consumers' refund and warranty rights makes it clear that this conduct is a serious breach of the Australian Consumer Law".
![The Dream Kart website today.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170704223307im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/0/j/3/2/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx0hjw.png/1498702951473.jpg)
The Federal Court also ordered Chopra to refrain from engaging in similar conduct for a period of five years and undertake training on his obligations under Australian Consumer Law.
However, fresh proceedings were filed by the consumer watchdog in November last year, alleging that Chopra had breached these orders through his involvement in another online electronics store www.dreamkart.com.au.
The website today appears online as "under maintenance".
In April, he was found guilty in the Federal Court of the contempt charges brought by the ACCC.
He was sentenced to three months in prison on Wednesday.
In his judgment, Justice O'Callaghan said he had "no doubt that the contempts [Chopra] committed … are criminal in nature. They involved an attitude of defiance, a deliberate and contumacious determination to defy the Court and a direct intention to disobey the Court's order".
ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said the court's decision to imprison Chopra reinforced "the serious consequences for those who do not comply with court orders".
"The ACCC regularly seeks court orders to prevent the same detrimental conduct from happening again and to protect consumers from future harm," she said, adding that the regulator "rigorously" pursued compliance with such court orders.
Chopra will serve one month of the sentence immediately, while the remainder will be suspended on three conditions.
These are that he stops making false or misleading representations online about refund and warranty rights, stops wrongly accepting payment for goods by failing to supply those goods within the specified time and ensures he is not knowingly involved in such conduct by any other person, for a period of five years.