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Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Criminal Infringement of Copyrights Relating to DVD's

December 2, 2005 - Gregory A. White, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that Abubacri So, age 34, of 929 Maud Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, was sentenced on December 2, 2005, by U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus, in Youngstown, Ohio, in connection with his recent conviction for criminal copyright infringement. Abubacri So was sentenced to 11 months in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. So was also ordered to pay $4,400 in restitution to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and a $200 special assessment to the Crime Victim's Fund.

On June 8, 2005, a federal grand jury in Cleveland returned an indictment charging So with two counts of criminal infringement of copyrights relating to DVD movies and CD audio recordings, and one count of possession of counterfeit labels to be affixed to counterfeit goods. The indictment also sought forfeiture of various items used by Abubacri So in connection with the offenses which were seized by the FBI on May 9, 2005, including 3 Acard Technologies 8-disk DVD reproduction units, a Gateway computer, a Hewlett Packard printer/scanner/copier, a DSL modem, a portable DVD player, 6,697 counterfeit DVD movies and 5,259 counterfeit audio CD recordings, assorted blank DVD and CD disks, and assorted counterfeit labels for DVD movies and CD audio recordings.

On August 24, 2005, So pleaded guilty to Counts 1 and 3 of the indictment and consented to the forfeiture of items listed in the indictment.

According to U.S. District Court records, in March 2005, a confidential source working under the direction of special agents from the Cleveland Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made several purchases of counterfeit DVD movies from Abubacri So. On March 9, 2005, the FBI's source purchased 800 counterfeit DVD movies from Abubacri So for $2,000.00, and on March 15, 2005, the FBI's source purchased 1,000 counterfeit DVD movies and 200 counterfeit audio CD recordings from Abubacri So for $2,450.00.

According to Court records, Abubacri So was arrested by the FBI on May 9, 2005, pursuant to a criminal complaint. Abubacri So was ordered held without bond following a detention hearing on May 16, 2005, before the Honorable William H. Baughman, Jr., U.S. Magistrate Judge. Search warrants executed on May 9, 2005, at 929 Maud Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, and at a storage unit leased by Abubacri So located on South Marginal Road in Cleveland, Ohio, resulted in the seizure of the counterfeit DVD movies, the counterfeit audio CD recordings, and the computer equipment listed above.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert W. Kern, Computer Crimes Coordinator for the Cleveland United States Attorney's Office, following an investigation by the Cybercrimes Squad of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Field Office.

Read the full article at cybercrime.gov

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