Fresno Men Plead Guilty To Conspiring To Sell Fake DVDs And CDs

FRESNO, Calif. — Jose Antonio Hernandez, 41, and Genaro Vela-Rodriguez, 28, both of Fresno, pleaded guilty today before Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to one count each of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Hernandez and Vela-Rodriguez admitted that from July to September 18, 2012, they were involved in an extensive scheme with others to store and distribute thousands of counterfeit DVD movies and audio CDs. Both men admitted to selling counterfeit movie DVDs and CDs, including some movies that had not yet been commercially distributed. Defendant Hernandez admitted to manufacturing counterfeit DVD movies.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant United States Attorneys Henry Z. Carbajal III and Patrick R. Delahunty are prosecuting the case.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Ishii on August 11, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement and traffic in counterfeit labels and counterfeit documentation and packaging is five years in prison. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.