FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               CONTACT:  DAVILYN WALSTON
THURSDAY, JANUARY 8, 2009                                           PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER
WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/txe                         PHONE: (409) 839-2538 CELL: (409) 553-9881
                                                                                                    

FLEA MARKET OWNER SENTENCED FOR COUNTERFEIT CD LABELS

            TEXARKANA, TX– United States Attorney Rebecca A. Gregory announced today that a 58-year-old Texarkana man has been sentenced for trafficking in counterfeit labels in the Eastern District of Texas. 

            LESLIE RAY WHITE pleaded guilty on Sept. 2, 2008 to trafficking in counterfeit CD labels and was sentenced today to 2 years probation and ordered to pay $28,000 in restitution and forfeiture of $28,000 to the U.S. government by United States District Judge David Folsom.

            According to information presented in court, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant on March 1, 2007, at the premises of Great American Outlet Mall, also known as Sissies Place and Great American Flea Market, Inc., in Texarkana, Bowie County, Texas.  Great American Outlet Mall was owned and operated by White.  During the execution of the search warrant, agents found and seized approximately 1,894 compact disks, each of which had a counterfeit label enclosed with or accompanying it.  The retail value of the items, had they been legitimate, was approximately $28,000.

            At the plea hearing, White admitted that he was intentionally trafficking in the compact disks and offering them for sale to the general public.  He also admitted that he knew that the labels were counterfeit.

            This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alan R. Jackson.

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