United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Major DVD And Audio Counterfeiters Indicted
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lauren Horwood |
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May 3, 2012 |
PHONE: (916) 554-2706 |
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www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae |
usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
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FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that a federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment charging Jose Jeronimo-Jimenez, 32, and Alberto Campos-Limon, 24, both of Mexico, with criminal copyright infringement, criminal copyright infringement for personal gain, trafficking in counterfeit labels and conspiracy to commit those offenses and a forfeiture allegation.
According to the indictment, from February 28 to April 24, 2012, the defendants were involved in an extensive scheme to manufacture and distribute more than 70,000 counterfeit DVD movies and audio CDs. They sold counterfeit movie DVDs and CDs, including some movies that were only in theatrical release and some not yet available on DVD. Among the DVD movies were “Safe House,” “In Time,” “Haywire,” “Red Tails,” “Hunger Games,” and “American Reunion.” The retail value of the copyrighted works was more than $900,000.
The defendants are scheduled to appear for arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto on Friday, May 4, 2012, at 1:30 p.m.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the Fresno County Sheriff’s office. Assistant United States Attorneys Stanley A. Boone and Ian Garriques are prosecuting the case.
If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. The actual sentence, however, will be determined after conviction at the discretion of the court following consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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