Windsor Man Admits Making And Selling Bootlegged Dvds And Cds For More Than A Decade

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOHN W. RICE, 40, of Windsor, pleaded guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge William I. Garfinkel in Bridgeport to one count of criminal copyright infringement and one count of money laundering related to his production and sale of thousands of pirated CDs and DVDs.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2000 and 2013, doing business as “Dr. Jay’s Entertainment,” RICE manufactured copies of motion pictures, television shows, and music that were copyrighted works, using recordable blank DVDs and CDs.  RICE also produced labels for the discs and paper inserts for the cases in which the pirated works were sold.  RICE set up tables in various locations on which he displayed and sold the bootlegged merchandise, and also advertised and sold the materials over the Internet through Facebook.

The government has seized a total of 8,913 DVDs and 11,410 CDs from RICE and Dr. Jay’s Entertainment.

For the past 13 years, the sale of counterfeit media has constituted RICE’s only source of income, and RICE has admitted that he could make up to $300,000 annually from the illegal sales.

RICE also structured cash deposits into his bank account.  In addition, in November 2012, RICE withdrew from his account $39,237.23 in cash derived from his criminal activity in order to purchase a cashier’s check payable to BMW of West Springfield.

RICE is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford on July 25, 2014, at which time he faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a fine of up to $500,000.  RICE also has agreed to forfeit $48,195.42 seized from his bank account, as well as a 2005 Chevrolet Corvette and a 2012 BMW 650i that he had purchased, but had registered in the names of third parties.

This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations and the Hartford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas P. Morabito.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov