USAO Home Page
    DOJ Seal


    United States Attorney's Office
    Central District of California

    Thom Mrozek
    Public Affairs Officer

    (213) 894-6947
    thom.mrozek@usdoj.gov



    Return to the 2009 Press Release Index
    Release No. 09-146

    December 16, 2009

    NEW YORK MAN ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES OF ILLEGALLY DISTRIBUTING COPY OF ‘WOLVERINE’ MOVIE

    A New York man who is charged with unlawfully distributing a pirated copy of the movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” in violation of federal copyright law was taken into custody this morning by special agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    Gilberto Sanchez, 47, who resides in The Bronx, was arrested at his home without incident. This morning’s arrest follows an indictment returned on December 10 by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles that charges Sanchez with uploading the copyrighted “X-Men Origins: Wolverine to www.Megaupload.com last spring. The indictment was unsealed after Sanchez’ arrest this morning.

    Sanchez is expected to make his initial appearance today before a United States Magistrate Judge in New York.

    The charge of uploading a copyrighted work to the Internet carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine or twice the gross gain or gross loss attributable to the offense, whichever is greater.

    An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

    This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    #####

    Release No. 09-146
    Return to the 2009 Press Release Index