Two men sentenced to prison for Copenhagen Lashes subscription scam

A Danish court has sentenced two men to prison for operating a fraudulent online shop, Copenhagen Lashes, which tricked thousands of customers into hidden subscriptions, DR reports.

The Randers District Court on Tuesday handed down sentences of two and two and a half years to the two main figures behind the scheme, which involved luring customers with a New Year’s offer for eyelash serum priced at 35 kroner (approx. €4.70). Unbeknownst to buyers, the purchase automatically enrolled them in a binding subscription costing at least 260 kroner (€35) per month.

According to the ruling, the defendants used stored payment details to withdraw over 3.1 million kroner (€416,000) from at least 5,930 transactions on December 30–31, 2020. The case was first exposed by DR’s consumer program Kontant in 2021, revealing that over 1,000 customers had been misled into costly subscriptions they did not consent to.

The court cited incriminating messages between the men, including one from New Year’s Eve 2020 stating, “The best we can do is take people’s money,” and another suggesting they “liquidate [the company] by mid-January.” Copenhagen Lashes declared bankruptcy shortly afterward, though a hidden account containing nearly two million kroner (€268,000) was later uncovered with the help of foreign lawyers.

In addition to the prison terms, one defendant—previously convicted of similar offenses—was barred from managing any business unless he assumes unlimited personal liability for its debts. Both men have 14 days to decide whether to appeal. Their defense attorneys either declined to comment or did not respond to requests.

The court ruled that the case constituted gross fraud and grossly negligent business conduct, pointing to concealed funds and incomplete accounting records as key evidence.