The landlords and tenants of industrial units that were turned into shops without planning permission have been ordered to pay more than £100,000 between them.
The financial penalties were made at Leicester Crown Court because the owners and shopkeepers defied city council enforcement notices ordering them to stop trading.
The court was told they "disregarded" the notices and continued business as usual at 244 to 248 Green Lane Road, North Evington.
The council took a tough stance and refused retrospective planning applications.
The traders at the Maharaja Superstore, Greens DIY and Discount Flooring campaigned against the council's decision, bolstered by supporters including two ward councillors and Leicester East MP Keith Vaz.
The defendants ended up pleading guilty before city magistrates, in April last year, to breaching enforcement notices requesting they cease trading and remove all fixtures and fittings.
The supermarket and DIY store were based at units owned by Kulbir Khakh (51) and his wife, Satbir Khakh (46), of Norman Court, Oadby.
At a sentencing hearing at the crown court today, the couple were jointly fined £30,000 with £8,000 costs. They also had £6,558 confiscated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The Khakhs bought units 244 and 246 Green Lane Road in January 2010 for £559,888, knowing they only had planning permission for industrial use.
But several months later, they leased them out as retail units.
The council refused applications for change of use at the units, the site of a former hosiery warehouse, because of "incompatibility with existing Leicester City Council policies relating to the economic prosperity of the area and concern about parking problems".
The judge said the culpability of the tenants was less than that of the landlords.
Dalbir Singh (55), of Dorothy Road, Leicester, and business partner Jatinder Singh (49), of Drumcliff Road, Leicester, who leased unit 246 to run the Maharaja Supermarket, were each fined £2,500, with £4,000 costs, and each had £8,400 confiscated by the court.
Subash Khunti (38), of Harringworth Road, Leicester, who leased unit 244 to run Greens DIY, was fined £2,500, with £4,000 costs and had £11,345 confiscated.
Reshma Patel (37), of Maynard Road, Leicester, who leased unit 248 from part-owner Gurmaj Kaur Kler, to run a carpet and flooring shop, was fined £2,500 with £4,000 and had £6,000 confiscated.
Landlord Mrs Kler was sentenced in January last year for her role, and fined £5,000 by city magistrates, with costs.
Simon Hunka, prosecuting on behalf of the city council, said that when Mr Khakh was interviewed in September 2012 he said he failed to comply with the enforcement notice because there was "no interest" from anyone wanting an industrial unit.
He said: "I wanted to pay my mortgage and I can't pay that if it isn't rented out."
In interview, Dalbir Singh confirmed the supermarket had been open since July 2011 and he set the company up because he did not have a job.
He said: "I invested so much money in that shop.
"If your enforcement notice means I should close my shop down, where will I go?
"Where will I eat? How can I live my life?"
He said he had borrowed £50,000 from relatives and friends to set the business up.
His business partner, Jatinder Singh, expressed similar concerns in interview, saying he had invested £30,000 in the business.
In mitigation the court heard that the defendants continued trading because of "mixed messages", and the fact that they had strong support which gave them false hope their business would be saved.
A city council spokesman said after the hearing: "We look at issues such as the future size and scale of local shopping centres on a city-wide basis, to ensure any expansion is balanced and sustainable across the city as a whole.
"In the case of these premises, they simply set themselves up without any permission to do so.
"We carried out a survey of traders and residents in early December 2012 for their views on the future of the Green Lane Road shopping centre, and the results of this work are now being used to help us plan for the future of shopping areas across the city.
"The first stage of consultation on the new Local Plan is due to start later this month, with a view to being adopted in 2016."