U.S. Department of Justice

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Contact:
Christine Monaco, (212) 384-2715
James Margolin, (212) 384-2720

FBI DISMANTLES TWO LARGE-SCALE INTERNATIONAL MOVIE PIRACY RINGS

This morning, special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) New York Field Office arrested thirteen (13) members of two (2) large-scale international movie piracy rings operating in the New York area. The arrests are the culmination of a three-year investigation the FBI conducted with the assistance of the U.S.Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Announcing today’s arrests were MARK J. MERSHON, Assistant Director-in-Charge of the FBI’s New York Field Office, and MICHAEL ROBINSON, Vice President and Director of U.S. Anti-Piracy Operations for the MPAA.

As explained in the criminal complaint filed yesterday and unsealed today in Manhattan federal court, the FBI’s investigation entailed the operation of two (2) undercover FBI agents, three (3) Cooperating Witnesses (CWs), numerous consensual recordings, two (2) undercover operations and the execution of searches at locations associated with the piracy conspiracy.

The complaint alleges that each of the defendants arrested today plays one or more of the following roles in the piracy conspiracy: 1) a “Cammer,” an individual who uses video recording devices (camcorders or videocameras) to film unauthorized copies of motion pictures; 2) a “Wholesaler,” also called a “Distributor,” an individual who buys a master copy of the illegally recorded movie from the Cammer. Once he has a master copy, the Wholesaler/Distributor will purchase paper inserts which contain printed images and artwork associated with the pirated motion picture. The paper inserts are used to market the counterfeit movie, and 3) a “Printer,” an individual who produces the paper inserts and sells them to the Wholesaler/Distributor. Additionally, the complaint describes the roles of “Manufacturer” and “Retailer.” A Manufacturer is described as an individual who purchases a master copy of the movie and thousands of its paper inserts from a Wholesaler/Distributor. The Manufacturer will then mass produce the counterfeit movie and package it with the paper insert. A Retailer is described in the complaint as an individual who purchases the packaged counterfeit movies from the Manufacturer and sells the final product to his individual customers.

As stated in the complaint, the FBI investigation further determined that certain Cammers and Wholesalers were also distributing master copies internationally, via the Internet, through distribution hubs located overseas, including Pakistan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia, by uploading the counterfeit motion pictures to the Internet, either from a DVD or directly from the actual digital video tape contained in the camcorders that were used to film the copyrighted motion pictures in the movie theatres.

In addition to the arrests, the FBI executed search warrants this morning at locations in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn.

According to MPAA statistics, the motion picture industry loses approximately $18 billion a year worldwide to movie piracy.

Mr. MERSHON praised the efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the MPAA for their assistance in the investigation.

The conspiracy, copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit labels, documents and packaging charges each carry a maximum sentence of five (5) years in prison.

All defendants will be arraigned this afternoon in Manhattan federal court.

Charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations and defendants are innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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DEFENDANTS:

MOHAMMED GHOUTI LAKHDAR

OMAR A. LAKHDAR

MARCOS BAUZO

DENNIS BOWSER

HECTOR VAZQUEZ

ULISES PLACENCIAS

MAMADOU DIALLO

ZABERIOU GARBA

TEJON LNU

MUHAMMAD BILAL

TEJON LNU

ABDUL HALIM

AMADOU DIALLO

ALPHA A. BARRIE

BARRY SADA

LEO MARTINEZ

RAFAEL GONZALES

HERB LNU

RICHIE LNU

FNU LNU

MIGUEL LNU