Whatever
Happened To...
An update on past news
1 charged for piracy
pleads guilty; other 8
will stand trialQuestion: What ever happened with the case in which the FBI busted a video piracy ring and a federal grand jury indicted nine Oahu residents on criminal copyright infringement charges for selling an estimated 200,000 copies of movies and video games?
Answer: One of the nine men and women indicted in August has pleaded guilty to one felony count of conspiring to reproduce and/or distribute at least 10 unauthorized copies of copyrighted movies for commercial advantage and financial gain.
The movies have a retail value of more than $2,500.
Shawn Rivera entered his guilty plea Jan. 27 and faces a maximum of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Nakamura.
Rivera also must pay restitution for any loss caused by criminal conduct, Nakamura said.
Rivera was the only one charged with a single count on the indictment.
The remaining eight defendants are set for trial April 27 in federal court.
FBI officials said it was the largest illegal operation involving video compact disc and DVD production in the country busted by law enforcement.
The FBI seized more than 9,000 illegally copied movies and video games and between 80 and 100 CD and DVD recordable drivers, or "burners."
The defendants allegedly either sold video CDs directly to customers or to runners for $3 to $5 apiece, who in turn sold them at swap meets, parks, nightclubs and private homes for $5 to $7.
Two defendants were also accused of modifying Microsoft Xbox and Sony PlayStation 2 consoles by overriding their security systems to allow pirated games to be played on them.
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