FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
AUSA VICKIE E. LEDUC or
MARCIA MURPHY at 410-209-4885
May 6, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ROCKVILLE MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO STEALING
OVER 7,000 DVDs FROM THE MAIL
Greenbelt, Maryland - Frank Songa, age 28, of Rockville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to stealing DVDs delivered by mail over a four year period to a DVD rental company he worked for, announced United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to the plea agreement, Songa worked at a distribution center in Gaithersburg, Maryland for a business that provided DVD rentals through the internet. During his employment, he had access to DVD movies owned by his company, as well as DVD movies owned by rival companies that had been misdelivered to his employer. From October 2004 to January 2009, Songa stole DVDs, placed them into a dumpster outside his employer’s facility and later returned to retrieve them. He stole over 7,000 DVDs, including: 5,355 DVDs owned by a rival company, valued at $80,325; 1,029 DVDs owned by his employer, valued at $12,348; and approximately 883 DVDs from other owners, with an unknown value. Songa maintained lists of DVD movies requested by acquaintances and, on at least a few occasions, sold stolen DVD movies.
Songa faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison followed by three years supervised release. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for July 28, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. As part of his plea agreement, Songa has agreed to restitution and forfeiture of 7,267 stolen DVD movies, the number of DVDs found in his home and car during a search on January 7, 2009.
United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein thanked the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its investigative work and commended Assistant United States Attorney Christen A. Sproule, who is prosecuting the case.