Cedar Rapids Man Pleads Guilty To Producing And Selling Counterfeit DVDs And CDs

A man who produced and had for sale thousands of counterfeit movie DVDs and music CDs pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Steven Brown, 45, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was convicted of one count of copyright infringement.

At the plea hearing, Brown admitted that between December 2012 and February 2013, he produced and offered for sale 1,510 counterfeit DVDs and 492 counterfeit CDs.  Brown further admitted that these counterfeit goods had a total retail value of more than $25,000.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Linda R. Reade will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Brown remains free on conditions of supervision set by the Court pending sentencing.  Brown faces a possible maximum sentence of five years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $100 in special assessments, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security. 

Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/.  The case file number is 14-CR-00080.