Press Releases
TWO LOCAL MEN PLEAD GUILTY TO SALE OF PIRATED AND COUNTERFEIT GOODS
October 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
U. S. Attorney Jim Letten announced today that AHMAD KHELIK, age 34, and ABDEL KHELIK, age 31, both of Westwego, Louisiana , pled guilty in federal court to three federal felony charges involving the sale of pirated CDs and DVDs and counterfeit clothing and handbags.
Specifically, both AHMAD KHELIK and ABDEL KHELIK pled guilty before U. S. District Judge Helen G. Berrigan to two counts of Criminal Copyright Infringement and one count of Sale of Counterfeit goods. Each count of Criminal Copyright carries a maximum statutory penalty of five (5) years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. Sale of Counterfeit goods carries a maximum penalty of ten (10) years and a fine of $2,000,000.
Both defendants were charged with distributing both motion picture DVDs and music CD’s. The indictment alleged and the defendants admitted that the movies “Rush Hour 3”, “Dark Crystal”, “Rendition”, and “Kingdom” were among the copyrighted works that were pirated and copied without the consent of the copyright holder and that copyrighted recordings of BG, J. Holiday and Kanye West as well as other artists were copied and sold without permission. It is also alleged and the defendants admitted that they infringed on certain trademarks and were selling “counterfeit” products with brand names such as “Nike”, “Nike Air”, “Nike Air Max”, “Prada”, “Burberry”, “LRG”, “Encye” “Coogi”, “Girbaud”, “Lacoste”, “Coach”, “Fendi”, “Polo”, “Rocawear” “NBA Properties”, “Chanel”, “ Louis Vuitton”, “FUBU”, “Sean John”, “Red Monkey”, “BAPE”, “Versace”, “Timberland ”and “Kate Spade”. According to court documents, the items were seized from a business the defendants managed in Marrero named Ali & Sons Food Store.
Both ABDEL KHELIK and AHMAD KHELIK were indicted by a federal grand jury in February 27, 2008. Sentencing has been set for February 4, 2009.
Letten stated that these two guilty pleas are part of a continuing effort to combat the sale of counterfeit goods and bootleg CD’s and DVD’s. In addition to these two DEFENDANTS, five other individuals have been charged in other separate cases: YOLANDA WILLIAMS pled guilty to the Sale of Counterfeit Goods and received a three year probationary sentence; DESI WILSON pled guilty to two counts of Criminal Copyright Infringement and one count of Sale of Counterfeit goods and is awaiting sentencing ; ANTHONY JOHNSON pled guilty to Criminal Copyright Infringement and is awaiting sentencing; TANNER HILLS pled guilty to two counts of Criminal Copyright and received a one year term of imprisonment and TODD CLARK is charged with two counts of Criminal Copyright Infringement and is scheduled for trial in December. Letten indicated that the cases have been investigated by various agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Police Department.
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Deputies of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Mark A. Miller, Chief, Organized Crime Strike Force Unit has handled all of these prosecutions.
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